Boks unsure about being rested

GRAND SLAM COMPLICATION
The Springbok management have not yet decided about the resting of players on the year-end tour and are likely to discuss the issue within the next fortnight.

Rugby365

“The fact that it is a Grand Slam tour makes it more difficult,” Springbok captain John Smit said Friday.

Speaking to the media ahead of the Mandela Plate decider against Australia in Bloemfontein on Saturday, Smit admitted that leaving three players or so at home will not necessarily weaken the side.

They will face Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England and the Barbarians on a tour which does not come about too often.

The last Bok attempt to win a ‘Grand Slam’ on tour was in 2004 under Jake White.

It is to be hoped that Smit, his vice-captain Victor Matfield and out of form wing Bryan Habana will get a break.

It has also been hinted that flyhalf Morné Steyn and prop Gurthrö Steenkamp can do with a rest, after a full Super 14 season which led to the Bulls’ second successive title in this competition and then the 10 Tests, including four before the Tri-Nations competition and six Tri-Nations Tests.

The Springboks will be allowed a four-week break after Saturday’s Test where fitness will remain a priority.

They will not be in a national training camp but will do their reconditioning with their different unions.

The Boks will, however, not be allowed to take part in the Currie Cup competition except for the last round and the play-offs.

All the Boks are expected to be released for those three weeks from October 9 (last round), October 16 (semifinals) and October 30 (Final).

A number of the final round matches could well determine the semifinalists.

ADDED FROM SPORT24:

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers supports a scientific approach to the management of his players’ workloads and the South African Rugby Union’s (SARU) medical advisors have already said the senior members of the squad need to be rested if they are to be fresh for next year’s World Cup in New Zealand.

Professor Tim Noakes, a leading South African sports scientist who was a member of the management team for the triumphant 2007 World Cup campaign, told the City Press newspaper recently that a heavy workload was probably partly responsible for the Springboks’ poor Tri-Nations performance.

“The players appeared to be emotionally and physically drained. They were sluggish and this is either because they are too old, too unfit or they are tired. I hope someone makes the correct diagnosis of which one it is,” Noakes said.

“If a player is over-stressed, they can’t run as fast, although they may cover the same distance. It’s speed they lose, so they can’t get around the field as well.”

Noakes said his research had shown that the threshold for game time was between 1,400 and 1,600 minutes before players needed a rest; Smit has totted up nearly 2,000 minutes this season, including the Super 14.

The Springboks will end their year with tests against Ireland in Dublin on November 6, Wales in Cardiff on November 13, Scotland at Murrayfield on November 20 and England at Twickenham on November 27. They also face the Barbarians on December 4.