The International Window for Rugby Union soon approaches. That is the brief period within the hectic Super Rugby calendar where World Rugby schedules matches between national sides and in 2016, that includes Northern Hemisphere sides visiting their Southern foes. That will interrupt all existing competitions, as vital match-ups are played in the shadow of results from last October’s Rugby World Cup.
If you recall, all four Southern powerhouses of New Zealand (NZ) Australia, South Africa (RSA) and Argentina dominated the semi final stages, blocking any Northern representation further into the knockout tournament. Won in style by NZ, many northern hemisphere fans might believe that ‘retribution’ must be taken, which might not be such an over-descriptive word. No, it’s not a battle of swords at dawn, but a good old conflict on the sporting ground will soon be upon us which in Rugby, has been a fundamental since the turn of the century.
Any of the multiple sides on tour, will be aiming for improvement. The northern teams last played in the RBS Six Nations (won by England) Those sides touring ‘downunder’ are England who visit Australia, Ireland play RSA, Argentina play Italy, Samoa and Tonga will host the improved Georgia team while the current World Champion NZ All Blacks team host Wales in a three test series.
What does that mean for Super Rugby fans though? Their sides must now pause the whole competition after this latest Round 14, when fans from Gisbourne to Gauteng are asked to ‘take a hiatus’ until these International games are over. Just ‘tie up your horses’ if you don’t mind, as SANZAAR nations select your favourite players from your franchise of choice, to pitch battle for a month. Thank you.
A ‘thank you’ might be forced though as this calendar is not always welcomed. If you are a Super Rugby franchise who has planned for a full 17 week competition, you must then include a month long ‘window’–that interruption must make for extra work by all of the 18 franchises, but credit goes to those whose sides will not sit idle during that time [International window]
Super Rugby Will Not Sit Idle During International Window
In NZ, some sides will enjoy at least one weeks mid-season break before returning to ‘work’. That might be as much in the gym, as it would be in the meeting and video rooms. Addressing squad issues and developing new patterns/line-out calls as they would do over any season but this break will also include some physical expression, especially for the Chiefs. Across the franchises, teams have scheduled games, such as the South African A team will host the England Saxons team in two tests, and those games will include many South African conference team members.
There are several inter-conference friendly games in NZ (if you can call them that) with the most widely recognized being the touring Welsh side facing the Chiefs on June 14th.
- CHIEFS v WALES – June 14th, FMG Waikato Stadium
- SOUTH AFRICA A v ENGLAND SAXONS – June 10th, Bloemfontein | June 17th, George
- HIGHLANDERS v CRUSADERS – June 23rd, Oamaru
- BLUES v NZ BARBARIANS – June 24th, Whangarei
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MELBOURNE REBELS v HURRICANES – June 23rd Harlequins Club, Melbourne
Notwithstanding the other 13 Super Rugby sides, some teams will concentrate more on re-conditioning while others will need to watch out for rust appearing on their players. Most of them will not sit idle during the window and that includes the most high profile domestic match involving the touring Wales side, in an mid-week encounter in Hamilton. A game made more familiar in ‘Moo loo country’ because Warren Gatland, the current Wales head coach played for Waikato and was technical advisor for the Chiefs in 2006, before assuming his current role based in Cardiff.
Gatland will understand well the two flip-sides of this enforced window. Like his opposing coach Dave Rennie, being asked to relinquish players and to adhere to a set window ‘right bang in the middle’ of the season is a headache for any club/franchise head. Gatland knows it as an International coach and in his time as coach of Connacht. Today, in his Welsh role he is asking players to keep this window open for selection, speaking directly with management and diligently watching fitness, form and hoping to gain access to players as early as possible [for some, they are still playing in France, so that limits their availabilty]
It must be upsetting naturally for a Coach, to be contacted ahead of time and asked to allow one of your best players to leave your environment and represent their country; and all the pressure that comes with that selection. Of course you’re happy for them. The players would all look forward to being invited to play for their country which is the ‘pinnacle of your sport’. That same feeling runs true from Tokyo to Buenos Aires, and nobody would take anything away from the 30 odd players who will be named in the new national teams over this week.
“Yeah it is what it is, you’ve just got to carry on with it” says Highlanders assistant coach Scott McLeod.
With that, this article wishes to look at what franchises themselves choose to do in this international window. Planning is paramount, as is adapting to the loss of representative players. Coaching groups must manage the squad of players left ‘idle’ with no professional competition for them. Outsiders might suspect that club matches are the answer (and would have been in the past)Fans may want to release non-core members but that is only if the organisation has not already made plans for those men.
I spoke with Tony Pulu from the Chiefs recently, asking him about his club commitments. Pulu currently plays for Bombay in the Counties-Manukau rugby union catchment. A ‘Steeler’ on 33 occasions, he remarked to LWOS that he would stay with the Chiefs franchise throughout the window, “no I’m not going to be able to play for Bombay but I’ll keep an eye out [for results]”. Players signed with franchises are employed as squad members for the entire month, no let up–which is their perogative.
Pulu is the quintessential young professional player.
Only new to this particular organisation, he would have given up countless club games over his short career path that will see him capture a limited window of opportunity to play in the highest competition. Not that LWOS will not give the Northern Hemisphere full credit. The Top 14 runs for an incredible period [up to 40 plus weeks] with multiple interruptions from International commitments, and leading players still have to balance the needs of your club/franchise against the requirements of your nation. In reality though, the club/franchise is your employer and empathy ust be given when your best players are taken from you.
Pulu has represented his nation of Nuie in Rugby Sevens, being a part of their 2009 side that played at the Wellington International Sevens tournament (pre-HSBC Sevens Series) and told LWOS that he waits for any opportunity and he know’s the expectations that International players are asked to provide. He will be most pleased that the franchise is not resting during the window of June. Known for his speed, a player like Pulu was made to run, so downtime is not his favourite part of being a professional sportsman.
Likely to feature in the June 14th mid-week match (which is not on the official WRU itinerary) the opposition should include the odd test player, so the Chiefs will be offered much more than your routine opposed training session. The excitement will be evident in the attendance, with the ‘Gatland factor’ bringing in many locals as a mark of respect, as much as a ‘test’ to see how their Chiefs men fare against a talented Northern Hemisphere side.
A good opportunity for the visitors too, to incorporate wider group players so Pulu might not be as familiar with his opposite winger until close to the game start. In years gone by, the odd touring side would foretell their ambitions and motivations. Battle lines might be drawn, warnings of their intentions made to media and even more. Even midweek sides had goals–to be a contributor to a winning tour–and to claim a few domestic scalps on the way. Always helping the core-Test side to achieve their goal, and in 2016 it might be a chance to gain a victory over the All Blacks (that would be the first since 1953)
NZ must face Wales after a huge regression in established leaders within their ranks after so many retirements, so are in a semi-vulnerable position for once.
Don’t mention that to head coach Steve Hansen though, who is famous for saying ‘what he hides up his sleeve’….”my arm”. His classic dry wit hides the fact that in the months and weeks leading up to the window, Hansen and his coaching team would have communicated directly with Super Rugby coaches across all five franchises. His coaching group visited them all and will stay in touch during the first week of preparations and as a consummate professional, more than likely a debrief after the June Steinlager Test Series.
The Wales connection with the All Blacks coaching legacy is well documented–Sir Graham Henry and Hansen–and Warren Gatland is proud too of his International coaching credentials. He will want to go one better than the past occasion he has faced the NZ team. The footage below shows one of the more intense encounters between these sides, with a prolonged stare-off in 2008 that was felt as a slap in the face by some, while others thought it was a salute to the ‘Challenge’ that the Haka in fact is.
With the interruption to their weekly round-robin competition, a mixture of re-conditioning, skills development and team building will be mixed-up with opposed trainings for Super Rugby sides in the break. Players will be more than happy; in this instance, where the Chiefs franchise faces Wales on Wednesday June 14th at their home ground, FMG Waikato Stadium. It should definitely be a great match-up, as this team will certainly be more familiar with each other as a team then will Gatland’s men.
Both will have their work in front of them though. The Chiefs will bring a near-International quality side, and Gatland’s men will have already played the first test (June 11th) and the traveling side will use the whole environment on tour to use it as an elongated ‘midweek group session’. That is what Super Rugby teams can generate from their planned matches during the International window as well.
The Chiefs will take much from their game, the Highlanders playing the Crusaders too will benefit–especailly after the great display from the Landers last week in Dunedin–the Blues will just be happy to find some competition, but Tana Umaga is as smart as Gatland. He knows the men he leads need to stretch their legs, and a Barbarians match just might be the trick. Examples of this pre-planning and awareness of not sitting idle might be the key reason that after this month-long break, NZ Super Rugby sides will jump straight back into Round 15 of the competition.
Do that, and those sides will go far in 2016. They would have been intelligent in planning and utilized the break to not only refresh players and to revive their team spirit, but they will benefit in coming together as a unit. Most will be close to home but will be aware that their ‘job’ means that they be ready to jump straight back into the ‘fire’ that is Super Rugby in July.
Those who sit idle, may be the least likely to succeed when the heat comes back on after this International window.
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