Ex-Wallaby blasts New Zealand Rugby's ‘stupid’ policy as All Blacks rested
Former Wallaby full-back Greg Martin has blasted the New Zealand teams for resting their players this early in the Super Rugby Pacific season.
The top sides from across the Tasman Sea have yet to truly put out their strongest squads in the competition so far as they look to comply with New Zealand Rugby’s regulations.
Under the agreement between the governing body and the franchises, All Blacks players must have a certain amount of rest.
That is intended to keep them fresh and their bodies intact ahead of the Test season, which is obviously the priority for NZR.
Blues squad
On Wednesday, the Blues announced that they would be managing the loads of Finlay Christie and Rieko Ioane after they missed out on this weekend’s Super Rugby clash with the Highlanders.
Other internationals also didn’t play or start in Round One for that very reason and there will be plenty of occasions during the campaign where the franchises will be forced to rotate.
Martin has duly lashed out, ridiculing the idea of resting players this early in the year when it has been four months since the Rugby World Cup finished.
The ex-Wallaby also believes that the supporters are getting short-changed by missing out on seeing some of the sport’s top stars.
“It’s completely ridiculous. We (Australia) don’t do this because what do we need a rest from? We didn’t finish very late in the World Cup, we’ve had a good rest,” he told The Platform.
“It’s completely nonsensical. There’s no World Cup. What are you supposed to do? You’re supposed to play rugby because what you get paid for is to entertain people.”
‘Fan-centric’
It could also be argued that it is at odds with NZR’s desire to make Super Rugby more ‘fan-centric.’ While resting players doesn’t necessarily come under the banner laid out prior to the season, there is no doubt that the supporters would like to see the best feature every week.
Martin is altogether bemused by the decision to rest individuals this early in the campaign, but queried whether the All Blacks are attempting to give younger players a chance at the start of the World Cup cycle.
“We’ve got the questions rather than having the answers, but this year, the one after the World Cup, is the time to build your depth,” he added.
“Is that what they’re saying? They’re going, ‘well we’re going to give lots of other people a go, so we’ll then have depth in our All Blacks squad’, and then narrow it down as the next World Cup gets nearer.
