David Edwards
NormAustralia Cries Foul At Home Practice
June 25th 2007 14:47
It seems that even before the Rugby World Cup has started, South Africa has not made the right move in winning any fans. After they had played strongly in two home games against Australia and New Zealand in the Tri-Nations tournament, it was announced today that the Springboks will not tour with their full squad in their upcoming Tests against the Wallabies and All-Black in Sydney and Christchurch respectively.
This decision, which has been rumoured to be in the cards since the beginning of the tournament, has caused a major wave of controversy. Wallabies coach, John Connolly has commented that the Springboks’ decision to rest key players before the World Cup as ‘disrespectful’, whilst Australian Rugby Union chairman Peter McGrath has said that the decision has betrayed the fans.
The reason behind sending the second string side is that South Africa have one eye squarely set towards the World Cup, which kicks off in September, and will stop any risk on injuring or limiting any key players. Up to twenty players are not taking the flight for the next two Tests, which include lock Victor Matfield and skipper John Smit.
South Africa’s coach has defended his side’s lacklustre squad, claiming that they needed to give themselves the best chance in the World Cup, and it would be a “ludicrous risk” to take his full squad to Australia at the moment.
Australia and New Zealand on the other hand have slammed this defence, claiming that many fans have now be cheated, and the ones that bought tickets to either Test would possibly brought it under false pretences, expecting a major clash against the two strongest sides either country has to offer.
Personally, i believe this to be a tale of fantasy. The Australian Super 14’s had a go at this very same issue against the New Zealand squads resting key players, and now South Africa have decided to bolster their World Cup chances by not risking their quality players mere months before the biggest tournament the sport has to offer. If Australia cannot see the bigger picture here, then they have to look no further than their own backyard.
This practice of resting key players before a major tournament has been used for many Australian squads for some time. Before the cricket World Cup, the Australian squad rested skipper Ricky Ponting and now retired fast bowler Glenn McGrath for the Chappell Hadley test against New Zealand. The domestic netball competition always lets players rest before an international test. Even internationally the EPL and the NBA follow this before a major game or the playoffs. It is a common occurrence in all major competitions around the world, every team looks at the bigger picture in the future.
The question is why has the ARU now decided to complain when so many other sides follow the same practice without complaint? The reason behind this tirade is the simple fact that the Wallabies are by and far not the same side that competed in the last World Cup final.
Changes in the squad, both in players and coaches have left the side well and truly behind the eight ball, and if they have a chance to be a true competitor in the World Cup, they need to work well as the side and more importantly, win against full sides to earn a morale boost before the tournament.
But that will truly not happen at this stage. Whilst the Wallabies are in no condition to rest any players in the Tri-Nations, as they are racing against the clock to become a fully fledged side that can instinctively work together, in the end this might be the best thing for the squad. If the Wallabies can earn some hard wins against the Springboks (and potentialy the All-Blacks who are on fire but are looking at following South Africa’s footsteps), they might have a vital morale boost for the squad before their first match against Japan in the Rugby World Cup. We can only hope that our squad is not too worn out or injured by then.
Until next time, sports minds.
This decision, which has been rumoured to be in the cards since the beginning of the tournament, has caused a major wave of controversy. Wallabies coach, John Connolly has commented that the Springboks’ decision to rest key players before the World Cup as ‘disrespectful’, whilst Australian Rugby Union chairman Peter McGrath has said that the decision has betrayed the fans.
The reason behind sending the second string side is that South Africa have one eye squarely set towards the World Cup, which kicks off in September, and will stop any risk on injuring or limiting any key players. Up to twenty players are not taking the flight for the next two Tests, which include lock Victor Matfield and skipper John Smit.
South Africa’s coach has defended his side’s lacklustre squad, claiming that they needed to give themselves the best chance in the World Cup, and it would be a “ludicrous risk” to take his full squad to Australia at the moment.
Australia and New Zealand on the other hand have slammed this defence, claiming that many fans have now be cheated, and the ones that bought tickets to either Test would possibly brought it under false pretences, expecting a major clash against the two strongest sides either country has to offer.
Personally, i believe this to be a tale of fantasy. The Australian Super 14’s had a go at this very same issue against the New Zealand squads resting key players, and now South Africa have decided to bolster their World Cup chances by not risking their quality players mere months before the biggest tournament the sport has to offer. If Australia cannot see the bigger picture here, then they have to look no further than their own backyard.
This practice of resting key players before a major tournament has been used for many Australian squads for some time. Before the cricket World Cup, the Australian squad rested skipper Ricky Ponting and now retired fast bowler Glenn McGrath for the Chappell Hadley test against New Zealand. The domestic netball competition always lets players rest before an international test. Even internationally the EPL and the NBA follow this before a major game or the playoffs. It is a common occurrence in all major competitions around the world, every team looks at the bigger picture in the future.
The question is why has the ARU now decided to complain when so many other sides follow the same practice without complaint? The reason behind this tirade is the simple fact that the Wallabies are by and far not the same side that competed in the last World Cup final.
Changes in the squad, both in players and coaches have left the side well and truly behind the eight ball, and if they have a chance to be a true competitor in the World Cup, they need to work well as the side and more importantly, win against full sides to earn a morale boost before the tournament.
But that will truly not happen at this stage. Whilst the Wallabies are in no condition to rest any players in the Tri-Nations, as they are racing against the clock to become a fully fledged side that can instinctively work together, in the end this might be the best thing for the squad. If the Wallabies can earn some hard wins against the Springboks (and potentialy the All-Blacks who are on fire but are looking at following South Africa’s footsteps), they might have a vital morale boost for the squad before their first match against Japan in the Rugby World Cup. We can only hope that our squad is not too worn out or injured by then.
Until next time, sports minds.
| 41 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
