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…
ScrumJunkie
Guest
Al Baxter would have played second fiddle to Ben Darwin for his entire career, if it wasn't for Darwin's tragic injury. However Darwin was forced to retire, and Baxter stepped up. I don't think it cheapened a test cap. He might not be the greatest wallaby prop, but he earn't those caps, playing against the best in the world at the time.
GWS
Guest
Consistency in rwc irrelevant?
Seagull
Guest
Old Alo, if you saw your first test in 1965 then your memory being a blur might not just be because of too much rugby :-)
Pollock
Guest
The workload on professional rugby players is relatively light. Look at the top tennis players, 4 hour matches in 45 degree heat and them backup the next day for a fortnight. While it is a non contact sport it is a hard physical work. The problem is that while there maybe 10 tests a year only half of them are serious, by that I mean the Lions and All Black tests are a different league to a test against Scotland or Fiji. This leads to the situation where you have a fairly pedestrian player like Al Baxter racking up 80 or 90 test caps, more than Topo Rodreiguz, Andy MacIntrye, Tony Shaw & Mark Loane combined. Admitted it is a different era but surely "cheapens" a test cap.
Johnno
Guest
NZ VS France in Paris will bring in big money, as will England at Twickenham, bigger revenue than Wales . Both England ,France bigger populations, Irleand will rate well too. Italy they got good ratings, and big crowd in Rome. If i was the AB'S I would have kept the 4th game. Just take a bigger squad, and more rotation. Great opportunity for young guys, getting the chance to play in 4 test over 4 weeks, . Surley they could afford to take an extra 5 guys on tour with there BIG AIG sponsor deal. I am annoyed the AB'S have cut down to 3 tests. For me a Euro tour has to be 4 tests, not 3. More of a challenge and an extra game, 3 doesn't have the same energy or excitement. Your tour card out of 4 is more accurate than out of 3. And you grow on the tour, over 4.
Jerry
Guest
The reason they're not playing the extra game is that they've secured the $20 million sponsorship of AIG so aren't as dependent on a revenue sharing extra fixture. Given their historic record vs Wales (as you've noted) and their overall record on NH tours, the idea that they're running scared is laughable.
atlas
Guest
really? "All Black hierarchy didn’t like losing to the Poms" so much so that they are playing them (England) AGAIN this year? Their end of year tour is v Ireland, France and England Is that not enough? I'd rather have seen them drop France as well - that will be the fourth match NZ-Fra in 2013. And - fear of Wales? Not since 1953! Trivia note: It will be NZ's 36th match v England, and only 12 have been played in NZ.
Mike
Guest
I was under the impression the insider was someone inside the Wallaby Camp (a player maybe?). If thats the case his article seems to be advocating for less games not more?
Jutsie
Guest
thats how alot of the teams handle the bye in AFL, get a week off and take a team trip etc.
Justin2
Guest
Not going to happen though, the Derbies bring the ratings and therefore the dollars...
Tarragon Fields
Guest
Ha, actually I am from Qld. I don't hate the Tahs. In fact I wish them luck, (but just not quite as much as Qld). I hope the Tahs show the potential they have, because if they're strong, there's a good chance the national team will be strong.
Johnno
Guest
All you whinging fans, do you realise here guys, the players are not on your side on this subject. They support the media moguls, and sponsors, and love nothing more than a money grub and long season, and expansion, . I don't think some fans on here grasp the reality. The pro players think more is more, not less is more. And support the More is more concept, the pro players want more games not less. Wake up, I hope you realise the players are not on your side here of this section of fans.
Red Kev
Guest
We agree? Then I have changed my mind :)
Jutsie
Guest
RK something you and i agree on! Super rugby is devaluing test rugby atm. I found myself bored of rugby by the November internationals and that's not a good thing. We should go back to the old super format of each team playing the other once, enough of this derby nonsense.
Justin2
Guest
I think at times matches per season is a poor way to look a work load. What about training. If there is a bye in S15 and I was coaching I would be giving key players an 8-10 day break. Let them go off to Bali for a holiday. Rejuvenate and come back a couple of days prior to the next fixture. The workloads across training and playing need to be measured (and I assume they are). These guys dont play on mud heaps anymore, the pace is frenetic but Id prefer that to slogging it out in the mud with heavy legs. As others have said, you get $300k minimum to play 30 games of footy. Yes the season is long but the match work load isnt. We need to be smarter about managing the time throughout a season and give mental and physical breaks where possible.
Hoy
Roar Guru
There is something very wrong with the Cricket injuries. Something needs to be looked at there. Cricketers getting injured so much tells me their training is off, or their bodies are not right somehow. Another matter for another thread. The season is long. And there are too many gross money makers tacked on these days. Why the hell did the Wallabies have to fly to the UK to play the Barbarians, and then Wales as well after the World Cup? That is just a transparent, blatant money grab, and leaves a dirty taste in my mouth. Don't get me wrong, I love rugby. I could watch rugby all day and then into the night. But the taste of that tour as well as the timing of the Scottish test in Aus last year has made me a bit bitter with the administrators trying to cash in. Going back to Cricket, there is so much cricket now I can't stand watching it. We talk about it in the office, and think back to the 90s, early this century, and you wouldn't dream of missing a day/nighter. Now they are just meaningless, and yesterday for gods sake the National team was playing two games in two places. It all just screams cash grab. It is almost the perfect oppurtunity to realise that less is more.
Justin2
Guest
Arent they up to 24-25 prior to leaving for that tour? Up to 15 S15 matches, 3 June internationals, 6 in the RC, extra BC. Am I missing some fixtures?
Justin2
Guest
That may have been the motivation but it doesnt change how dangerous the Wallabies were at times and had knocked off the ABs at last start. Dingo then came up with awful tactics and we were history.
Johnno
Guest
Old ALo , why do you feel sorry for these highly paid gallery-slaves. They are not forced to play pro sport against there will. They are freely signing up to be an athlete, and can retire anytime they want. The NBA player player an 82 regular game season, plus 4 rounds of play offs that if every series goes to 7 matches it will be a 110 game season in totally. Most players will play about 100 games available to them and will probably play about 90 games a year, rest from a few regular season games. MLB it is even longer season from memory. These players want the games, and are not being forced into a career in pro sports, and can retire at anytime and are not.
Newter
Guest
There were 7 games more than the Boks. We played the RWC semi, the Bronze Medal playoff, the Barbarians, Wales in Cardiff then in 2012 we played extra tests against Scotland, the All Blacks in Brisbane, and again Wales in Cardiff.