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'Players need a break': Mark Robinson on the future of the All Blacks' rest policy
Criticism of the All Blacks‘ resting policy has again flooded in following the Hurricanes’ team announcement for their clash with the Chiefs. Ardie Savea, Jordie Barrett and Tyrel Lomax will all miss the heavyweight matchup in order to ensure their availability for the Hurricanes’ playoff run.
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The absence of three of the Hurricanes’ top players has not been well-received by Super Rugby fans who were anticipating another epic match between the two rivals and wanted to see all the stars in action.
It’s not the first instance of the rest requirements coming into play in big matches, but Hurricanes head coach Jason Holland said criticism of his decision was “a kick in the teeth” for the players who step up into the starting lineup in the All Blacks players’ absence.
New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson offered insight into the research behind the policy – which requires All Blacks to rest at least every fifth week of Super Rugby Pacific – and shared how the policy might evolve in the future.
“It’s a great question and it’s a fair one,” Robinson said on SENZ.
“We have an obligation where we are juggling priorities and all the research and data we see from our high-performance people around load management and amount of minutes suggests that the players need a break around the five to six game mark.
“I appreciate that there are fans out there who are used to seeing players play for long periods of time. However, we feel an obligation around player welfare and all the information is telling us they need a break.
“(Concussion) is also a massive priority for us. We are looking at ways we can change the format of the game (so that) over time, the nature of (head) contact will change.”
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A major change in the game at the community level has been encouraged by World Rugby following extensive analysis and consultation that would see the legal tackle height lowered to the sternum. At this stage, the initiative is an opt-in trial in the community game globally, but depending on results and feedback, changes could be implemented at the professional level.
New Zealand Rugby will keep player safety a top priority and doesn’t see its policy as posing significant enough of a threat to audience engagement to provoke a revision. Robinson highlighted some of the recent achievements of Super Rugby Pacific’s crowd numbers as a testament while also acknowledging how he and his board are working to evolve with the changing landscape of sport in New Zealand.
“We have seen two sell-outs in recent weeks,” Robinson said, referring to round 12’s Crusaders vs Blues match and round 10’s Crusaders vs Chiefs.
“Historically, the sport has relied on rugby being the national game and the (thinking has been) that you should come out and support us.
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“We acknowledge that we need to change that model.
“We are working really hard to put the fan in the centre of the game.
“We have worked hard to grow value across the game so we can re-invest and foster the game at all levels.”
Comments on RugbyPass
If rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
1 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
23 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
23 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to commentsVern challenging this Blues side might be the edge they need to fulfill their potential. Convincing results from strong D and strong carries are hard to argue against.
1 Go to commentsLove seems to add a strong back field defense with speed to close the gap and tackle to his ability to attack, kick and pass (an accurate long pass). This sets him an edge over some of the other names - JRK in particular. Has to be said that Jordan and Stevenson have also been exposed defensively while Love has yet to face test match intensity. Spoilt for choice.
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