I've seen some small references on here as to the effect that the NRC will have on Uni and the players available come finals time in the SS. Am I right in saying it will be very likely that the players Uni have at the start of the season will be the ones taking the field during finals as the Super players not going to Wallabies will be taken up with NRC duties and not club.
If this is correct and given how even the games are in past seasons when Super Rugby is on I believe that this year will be a very open competition. Teams like Eastwood and Manly who will be strong again must give themselves a big chance this year
I think you are partially correct, Ilmf. Even before confirmation of the NRC going ahead, Uni faced a significant challenge with the Rebels apparently deciding not to release their contracted players to come back to play in Sydney Club rugby this season. The Rebels players were a major factor in how well Uni performed in the Grand Final.
So Uni are likely to be faced with a situation where their club-men at four franchises - Rebels, Reds, Brumbies and Force - have to sever playing ties with their club of choice. Uni players contracted with the 'Tahs may well be available although it is not yet clear whether Shore-Old-Boys-Bush-Division will be able to use their top level contacts to force some Uni Players to join them rather than playing for the Sydney Stars (provisional unfortunate name) in the NRC. I can't quite see how NRC duties would stop players participating in the Club Finals Series given that there is no overlap time-wise.
Because of their lack of access to most of the Super players they have developed Uni will definitely be tested, with players having to be developed to First Grade standard more rapidly. But this may be partially offset by the fact that there will be less disruption to team cohesion at the end of the season. One important positive factor is that Tom Carter will be available to focus on club rugby all season. People belittle him but he is still, in my opinion, the best organiser of backline defence in Australian rugby and his ability to provoke and unsettle opposition sides will greatly help to take pressure off relatively inexperienced team-mates.
We won't know how well Uni will cope with reduced availability of its professional players until season end although I think they have real capacity for adaptation to challenges. But that's only my admittedly biased view.
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