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'That's tough to navigate': The silver-lining of the Chiefs' 12-week stretch

By Tom Vinicombe
Brodie Retallick. (Photo by John Davidson/Photosport)

While the double-up rounds created by the Super Rugby Pacific draw refresher have understandably attracted the most attention, the fact that New Zealand’s sides will now spend the rest of the competition playing matches week-in and week-out will also prove a big factor down the track.

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The postponed fixtures from earlier in the season have all either been slotted into teams’ bye weeks or onto Tuesday nights. In the Chiefs’ case, they were supposed to have a spell this weekend but have instead found themselves squaring off with the Hurricanes in Wellington – a match that had first been scheduled for two weeks prior. As such, the Chiefs’ lack of a match during Round 2, with Moana Pasifika dealing with a Covid outbreak, will serve as their only break for the entirety of the competition.

With three possible finals matches on the cards, the Chiefs could now go another 12 weeks without a break – to add to the four games in a row they’ve already notched.

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Coach Clayton McMillan has acknowledged that’s not an ideal scenario but has also suggested that things could certainly be worse for his men.

“You accept it is what it is,” he said ahead of this weekend’s match with the Hurricanes. “We haven’t got a bye now but we also are really lucky that we haven’t had to double up, so there’s a bit of a trade-off.

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“Everybody’s been affected in one way or another through Covid and their draws being changed. Those teams that have to play double-up games, that’s tough to navigate, so in some ways missing out on a bye is not ideal but in comparison to some of our other competitors, we’re probably in a pretty good space.”

Somewhat ironically, the staggered impacts of Covid could also potentially have a positive effect, with many players effectively being forced to sit out for a round or two to isolate at home. In essence, players are getting their own individual bye weeks.

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“Ultimately, byes are there to try and rest people up, freshen them up mentally and physically,” McMillan said, “and if there’s one benefit – and I’m not too sure it’s a benefit – of Covid, we have had the majority of our squad be away for at least a week, albeit sort of in isolation, but hopefully achieving a similar goal of getting away out of the rugby environment and just being able to spend some time with family and rest the body, although not in the best circumstances.”

McMillan confirmed that there had been no further infections in the squad this week, as of Friday, but confirmed talismanic lock Brodie Retallick would be heading home for a few weeks as he waits for his broken thumb to heal.

“He is a presence in the group and I think his presence is something that the opposition really respects too,” McMillan said. “He’s a loss but a bit like the Covid boys, he can use this as an opportunity to get back to the Hawke’s Bay and spend a couple of weeks with his family and get a mental and physical refresher before he comes back and starts getting into some training. There’s always a bit of a silver lining to that stuff.”

With so much of the squad having already been afflicted with Covid, signs are positive that the Chiefs will be able to head into the second half of the competition with a relatively clean bill of health – although McMillan is well aware that things can change in an instant.

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“You never say never with this virus but that’s a good sign, I guess, that we’ve had a good portion of the squad go through and we haven’t had any more infections this week, touch wood.”

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Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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