Meyer sounds Super 15 warning

[gman]

Meyer sounds Super 15 warning

Former Springbok assistant and Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer has warned of an impending catastrophe if teams do not get their planning right for this year’s Super Rugby competition.

While many are still unsure what to expect, and coaches have been widely quoted as saying the new format - which sees teams split into country conferences, a 15th team and a longer playoff series -- is like heading into the “unknown”, Meyer is concerned at the impact that such a long competition will have on squads, especially in a World Cup year.

The competition now runs to 19 weeks, as opposed to the 15 in the Super 14, and while organisers have tried to accentuate the local derby element in the fixtures, it brings all sorts of interesting permutations in terms of squad depth, player rest and fatigue which will have a massive impact on the competition.

Meyer, who became the first South African coach to win the Super 14 with the Bulls, and narrowly lost out to incumbent Springbok coach Pieter de Villiers for the top job, warned that teams that don’t plan meticulously for the new format will be left high and dry as the competition wears on.

“Most people don’t realise just how tough this competition will be on players. The Super 14 was tough, but to be at your best week in and out for 19 weeks in a physical battle against the top players in the world is no easy thing to do,” Meyer said.

“Two things will win this competition - depth and conditioning. But if your planning isn’t spot on, then you will have little chance as well. The way the competition is set up now that unless you get a home quarterfinal, the teams that have to travel away almost have zero chance of winning.

“In the past you needed to finish first and second ensuring you had a good chance of winning the title. Now if you don’t finish in the top four, then it will be very difficult to progress.”

This makes the stakes of winning your local conference so much higher. And with that, Meyer believes, it may even see teams resting players against overseas sides to ensure their chances are better in their own conference.

“It will be tough and those derbies will be massively physical. You will probably see teams choosing their strongest line-ups for the derbies, but they will need to manage their players well, especially when the teams are overseas.

“For a team like the Bulls, they only have Morne Steyn at flyhalf who has played Super Rugby. They will need to develop a new flyhalf there as he cannot play every week. It was tough enough when players had to play 13 weeks in a row.”

Meyer adds that his concern stems further, as some South African teams may not have the necessary depth needed to do well in the competition.

“I feel we have more depth than the Australian sides, but some South African sides don’t have as much depth as others. Two weeks after the end of the competition, the Currie Cup and Tri-Nations begin, which will mean the top players will need to be rested. The depth will then be tested.

“This is going to change the face of South African rugby, and you can probably see a number of top provincial players miss the opening rounds of the Currie Cup, because you will need to rest them somewhere, otherwise your players will be overplayed.”

The reality is that the competition will start in a World Cup year, and unless teams get that balance right, it could be a long 19 weeks for them.

Meyer sounds Super 15 warning

Looking from a SA perspective,the coaches are going to have to manage the players extremely well.

This is an unknown territory that they are walking into.

 

[PaarlBok]

From a Springbok perspective I am glad the depth of fatties is with the Sharks (John Smit), the locks (Matfield and Bakkies) and scrummy (FdP) with the Brutes and Stormers midfielders (Jean and Jac Fourie). This lot have to be rotate carefully with the likes of the Doep Broers and Beast, Klein Flippie and Rossouw , Hougaard and Juan de Jongh to keep the hungry and in form once the WC tournament starts.

 

[DPK]

Even as an Aussie I'm keen to see how Hougaard will play when given more chances at 9 for the Bulls.

Maybe they can play FdP on the wing too?

 

[Lee Grant]

We have discussed most of the things that Meyer said before, though I never thought about fielding a lesser team against foreign teams before.

I guess Aussies are not getting too worried about the longer season. We are used to seeing Oz league teams playing 24 games with two byes and in Super Rugby Oz union teams will be playing 16 games with two byes. Compared to 2010, Super teams will be playing 3 extra pool games but will get 1 extra bye week - and if they are one of the 2 top conference winners they will get a bye in the first week of the finals also.

The increase of the attrition rate of Oz players will probably be noticeable though. The quality of the professional academies (or whatever they call them) of the Super teams will be more important this year than ever before.

 

[Langthorne]

We have discussed most of the things that Meyer said before, though I never thought about fielding a lesser team against foreign teams before.

.......

The increase of the attrition rate of Oz players will probably be noticeable though. .

I seem to remember somebody writing a blog piece suggesting (amid howls of disapproval) something to that effect.

 

[Lee Grant]

He must have been an astute fellow.