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It went un-noticed by most, but one of the significant ‘announcements’ of the admittedly brief Southern Hemisphere off season was that the All Blacks were pulling the pin on a scheduled money game with Wales on this year’s Spring Tour.
The reason given was that it was asking too much of the players, to add the extra game to an already extensive schedule, with the inference being that fatigue contributed to the upset loss to England which ended last year’s tour.
For that, read: the All Black hierarchy didn’t like losing to the Poms, so they pulled the plug in order to lessen the chances of the team again being ‘exposed’ when it might be vulnerable.
It was an insight into both how much power coach Steve Hansen has with the New Zealand Rugby Union, but also the fact that in New Zealand they take absolutely no risks as far as their precious All Blacks go.
Hopefully, after what the All Blacks have done, administrators on this side of the Tasman are taking note.
To be fair, we still don’t know what the new bosses at the ARU are going to be like.
The team has seen a fair bit of new ARU chairman Michael Hawker in the last few years, especially on tour when he was based in the UK. It’s fair to say he is held in high regard – both as a bloke, but just as importantly, as a hard core rugby man.
One would expect his new CEO, Bill Pulver, to be of a similar mind, although not many of the rugby community have met him just yet.
If they have a priorities list, one near the top should be to cut out the extra games that aren’t helping the Wallabies or – by extension – Australian rugby.
They might bring in a bit of extra cash, and no one doubts any revenue streams for the game are important, but surely so too is maintaining the aura of Test matches and of the Wallaby jersey?
If the Wallabies are being compromised in terms of preparation, simply in pursuit of a few extra bucks, then ultimately Australian rugby is losing.
Surely the image of the Wallabies in the eyes of potential sponsors/partners takes a hit when we lose games.
Also, the more games you play, the less the significance placed on each match.
Look at Wales. I reckon the crowds have got progressively smaller for each of those extra Tests we have played over there.
The schedule for this year is already in place. The players were told at last month’s logistics camp that there is an extra game on the Spring Tour.
This time it is against England, only at the start of the trip, as opposed to being tacked onto the end.
(This in itself will be a logistical challenge, as the third Bledisloe in New Zealand – probably Dunedin and another money game – is just two weeks before the England Test!)
Obviously it’s too late to change, but hopefully the new bosses will consult widely to see if something can be done beyond this year.
The Wallabies don’t take any game for granted.
The attitude and approach towards that Scotland Test was the same as for any other: even if everyone appreciated the difficulty of having only one full training session prior to kick off. And that was before the weather got ugly.
The scheduling might have been a bit of a stitch up but six guys made their debuts that night. Dave Pocock also led his country for the first time, so it carried significance for Australian rugby. No one was more disappointed than the players after the game. The feeling in the dressing room was pretty shattering.
It said a lot about how much the Wallaby jersey meant that the Wallabies came back so strongly only four days later in the first Test against Wales.
Maybe it was because the team was allowed two days of full training for that game!
Playing at Suncorp, which is by far the best venue we play at in Australia, probably helped too.
And before the cynics among you write this off as whinging, consider this (I owe this one to Benny Alexander, who came up with this revealing stat before last year’s Wales game).
If you start immediately following the 2011 World Cup quarter-final, where we beat South Africa, and run through to the last game of last year against Wales; the Wallabies played seven, I repeat seven, more games than the Saffas during this period (and three more than the Kiwis).
And no one out there would argue that our player base/depth is lighter than both South Africa and New Zealand at the moment.
Is it any wonder we had so many injuries, especially compared to those two teams?
If they need any more evidence, exhibit B is the situation that has dominated summer around the Australian Cricket team.
They are getting bagged for rotating players yet their injuries are soaring at an alarming rate, at a time when they seem to be playing all of the time, and often in front of sparse crowds because there is so much cricket.
Different game. Same problem.
The ‘Defence’ rests…
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.