'Not that big a deal': Nic Gill plays down All Blacks rest policy

Departing All Blacks Head of Performance Nic Gill has opened the lid on what goes on behind the scenes at New Zealand Rugby, about players resting throughout the opening rounds of Super Rugby Pacific.

Some fans and pundits believe it hurts the product, while Gill believes it is near impossible to ask the top-level All Blacks to play every week from the start of February to the end of November each year.

Speaking on Afternoons with Mark Stafford on Sport Nation NZ, Gill outlines what the guidelines have been from the coaches to the Super Rugby Pacific franchises.

“The actual guiding principles that we adopt over many years is we all want the player at their best, playing their best footy, for their club and their country,” Gill said.

“So we want Crusaders playing amazing for the Crusaders. And we want Crusaders that are lucky enough to be picked into the All Blacks playing great rugby for the All Blacks.

“The challenge people don’t understand is playing rugby from February through to November is impossible, physically and mentally. The long season a rugby player has in New Zealand is not great for the athletes longevity or performance.

“So, it’s a balancing act then, and I think that way back in 2007 we learned that if players didn’t play enough rugby, they didn’t play well.”

The long-time strength and conditioning coach explained that many people believe that they’ve found the sweet spot, which includes giving some All Blacks a week off here and there in Super Rugby Pacific.

“Now we think we’ve got to a point where we’re getting the most out of our players.

“Some of our players are playing 20 to 30 games a year and still playing well, and so we feel like we’ve got a bit of a sweet spot.

“Giving the odd All Black a week off within a Super season is a great thing for their entire year, not just for them, but for the club and for the country.”

“Essentially there’s sort of two levels of players. There’s a senior All Black who’s been around for a while and then there’s a new, young All Black that maybe only played this year, so there’s sort of two categories,” Gill told Mark Stafford on Sport Nation NZ.

“One category is just play them, and then the Super Rugby clubs will make a plan that they think’s right for them, so that might be All Blacks having the rest during Super Rugby. That’s got nothing to do with your All Blacks coaches looking after a key player of theirs.

“Likewise, a senior All Black, let’s just pick one out. Will Jordan one of the best fullbacks in the world, is likely to have one week prescribed rest that the Crusaders get to decide when they do it and how they do it, so they manage their squad based on some guiding principles.

“So that’s as complicated as we get, and so it’s not that big a deal, it’s what good coaches will do anyway.

“They’ll look after the squad, you need a Super Rugby team to get into the finals and then be firing on all cylinders. And you don’t get there by having every single one of your key players playing 80 minutes week in, week out.

“So individualised, not really, but it’s more a couple of different categories, and then the clubs figure out how it works for them, without compromising their ability to put their best team out week on week.”