It’s a big year for rugby union and one of the sport’s premier competitions, Super Rugby, kicks off this Friday with a mouth-watering round of intriguing matches and derbies.
Super Rugby has long been regarded as the game’s premier provincial rugby competition because it pits the very best players in the world against each other and offers up frenetic and pulsating clashes. This is also the last season where the competition will field 15 teams; Argentina joins the fray from next year February, which is significant in itself.
But even with all the pomp and fanfare that usually accompanies the official start of the southern hemisphere rugby season, the sport’s pinnacle showpiece, the Rugby World Cup (RWC), looms large over the tournament. Publicly, players and coaches will be trotting out the well-rehearsed speech about focusing on one match at a time, but, privately, the World Cup will be very firmly in the front of their minds.
There is a lot to factor in between now and RWC kicking off in England in September – burn out, injuries, conditioning, psychological impact just to name a few. For example, if a player is focusing on not picking up an injury that could end his chances of going to the World Cup, would it be safe to assume then that he would be cautious of potential injury scenarios he faces on the field thereby limiting what strategies and options he employs while playing? Enough players are wary after seeing what happened to Jean de Villiers at the end of last year’s season, which has left his involvement at the World Cup in jeopardy, to be well aware that giving their absolute best could end their season prematurely.
And what of the fringe players who need to throw everything on the table to ensure their national coaches see enough of their talents and abilities to make the final Cup squad? It’s tough on them, too, because one injury can end their hopes, but if they hold back to avoid injury they might not do enough to make the squad, anyway. With RWC only coming around every 4 years, it’s understandable why players are desperate to be included – a lot happens between World Cups and for most players they literally only get one shot to compete at their sport’s showpiece event.
Strategy will also come under the spotlight during Super Rugby in the form of game plans and player rotations. Already, a number of All Blacks including Kieran Read and Sam Whitelock won’t be available for the Crusaders till round 5; this is presumably to give them more rest after a gruelling 2014 season and also to protect them against possible burn out from everything that lies ahead of them this year. Will the absence of the game’s top players dull the shine of Super Rugby? Could it even affect TV audiences and attendance figures as fans, naturally, want to see the top players competing against each other?
What about the game plans? Sure, the tactics of the provincial coaches won’t mirror what national coaches have in mind, but with players being rested or managed, do Super Rugby coaches tow the line in the interest of the national team and opt for less adventurous match strategies? How will they adapt their game plans to accommodate players that need to be managed or rested?
Undoubtedly, the spectre of Rugby World Cup looms large and just how much Super Rugby will be expected to align to that agenda is a question many supporters and scribes will be asking. Will Super Rugby stay true to its tradition of being abrasive, strategic and uncompromising or will it play second fiddle to the more important tournament coming later in the year?
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