RUGBY NEWS:PLENTY HAS been made recently of the IRFU player management programme in the build up to the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
In a nutshell, it is designed to ensure Irish-based internationals do not exceed the ceiling of 30 matches, provincial and international, throughout the season.
Basically, certain Magners League fixtures are sacrificed. Over the festive season the allure of the interprovincial derbies was decreased by the forced withdrawal of top players. Ulster’s line-up in Dublin on December 26th included no internationals. It meant the obvious collision of Paddy Wallace and Gordon D’Arcy – locked in an intense struggle for the national inside centre slot – never occurred because the former was rested ahead of European and Six Nations duty, presuming he is selected, in the coming months.
A crowd of 18,140 still showed up to see Leinster beat a severely weakened Ulster. The same will happen in Galway and Belfast on January 2nd. This time Leinster are sending a squad west without Brian O’Driscoll and his fellow internationals, while Munster go north without Paul O’Connell, Ronan O’Gara and other regulars. Ulster are back at full strength.
Factor in the increasing rate of serious injuries at this stage of the season – like Denis Leamy, Luke Fitzgerald, Jerry Flannery, Rory Best and Felix Jones – and the line-ups look seriously depleted.
The main priority is to send the best-conditioned squad to New Zealand in 2011, to offset the numerical disadvantages Irish rugby must battle when compared to other elite nations. This is the IRFU attempting to give the international team, who are top of the pyramid, an advantage over the physically and mentally drained English and French-based players.
Another positive is the exposure fringe and Academy players will get to top class rugby at this stage of the season. An example being Jamie Smith featuring at fullback for Ulster at the RDS.
Leinster coach Michael Cheika went on a little solo run recently by risking an under-cooked first team in round three of the Heineken Cup against the Llanelli Scarlets by fielding a complete second string against the Dragons the previous weekend. The 30-14 Rodney Parade defeat was a confidence dissolver for several young players but the plan worked, with Leinster picking up 10 points from the back-to-back Llanelli matches.
“Yeah, you’ve got to try to pick the games,” Cheika explained. “Obviously the Dragons game we made a decision about what we were coming out of and going into. But it is a shame because the interprovincial fixtures are special ones and it would be nice if everyone was playing in them. They’re good for the crowds, in particular when you get a full house. So we’re going to have to manage those resources in the next few weeks to comply and then just get on with it.”
The coaches are not exactly over the moon with the edict from upon high – naturally, they want to win the Magners League – but they are not about to start bad- mouthing the IRFU as their system, especially in 2009, is working better than ever.
The union never officially explained their blueprint ahead of the next World Cup but it’s certain they are trying to avoid a meltdown like 2007 in France.
The IRFU director of rugby Eddie Wigglesworth has shone some light on the players’ programme for The Irish Times. First off, Wigglesworth was clear that provincial coaches run the player management programme. Not Declan Kidney or the union – who just supply the guidelines. There is also wriggle room for individual cases, clearly not believed to be required in the case of Wallace versus D’Arcy.
“The facts of the matter are quite straightforward,” said Wigglesworth. “A top international could play 18 Magners League games, at least six European games, three or four internationals in November, five in the Six Nations and three in the June international window. Add all that up (at least 35 matches) and most players simply cannot do it.
“We work around a system of 30, 31 games a year. It is not, however, prescriptive. In fact, it is a very individualistic situation.”
Frontline international players must be rested in two Magners League games during the four blocks of the season. This can increase or decrease depending on progress in Europe.
“All we are saying, during each phase of games, is the maximum number of games the international can play in. Within each phase the provincial coaches decide what games their players play in. Basically, it is a number -crunching exercise. They can’t play every match. Some players with certain physiological builds can do more, other guys must play less.”
This is a direct contrast to the English Premiership and French Top 14, where a player is expected to line out every weekend regardless of the amount of mileage on the clock.
“It is just a case of adhering to the guidelines at various points of the season.”
Celtic rugby and title sponsors Magners are not screaming blue murder just yet, and it should be noted Leinster and Munster are the past two league champions, but introducing a top four play-off this season is a clear attempt to raise the league’s profile to at least that of the French and English domestic competitions.
The IRFU have the magic number of 30 games a season for their top players and are not willing to let that number climb much higher. The interpro series may be weakened as a result of their priorities, but it’s a formula that has to date served them well.
