No temptation to rest tiring stars
30 Aug 2010
Peter de Villiers says the fans’ desire to watch his senior players was the main reason for not resting them for the Boks’ final Tri-Nations Test.
After Saturday’s 44-31 win over Australia at Loftus, De Villiers was at pains to highlight how John Smit, Victor Matfield and Bryan Habana have already well exceeded the optimum playing time of between 1 400 and 1 600 minutes per season. Matfield and Smit were never going to be rested with all the fanfare of their 100th Tests over the past two weekends, but another dead-rubber Test in Bloemfontein provided a chance to grant them a deserved break.
The trio were again at Bok training on Monday however, and even though Smit and Habana especially are off form and look mentally and physically jaded, they are set to add to their playing time.
‘There was no temptation to rest players,’ said De Villiers. ‘I have to weigh up two things and I have to look for the perfect balance. I look at what the people want, and what they want to pay for when watching a Test. These are their heroes and they deserve to watch them. We also have to question when we will come back to Bloemfontein before the World Cup for a Test and when they’ll see them again.
‘The main point is, what are the little things I can do during the week to freshen them up so that they can go for 60 minutes on Saturday and make an impact. It’s not just about selecting a side and letting them play. It’s about considering the team’s role-players, and I consider the fans to be one of the most important of those.’
De Villiers’ ploy to freshen up the players since last year’s November tour and also during this year’s Tri-Nations has been to give the players additional rest days or have low-intensity training sessions. Monday’s practice fell into the latter category as it lasted one hour and consisted of some skills drills, lineouts and kicking between the backs.
De Villiers’ comments that the public want to watch players who are off-form and are not at their peak must also be questioned, as there were still gaping holes in the stands at Loftus even though he selected his strongest side of the year. Smit’s form has been spiralling since the start of the international season, and his waning playing ability was highlighted by Chiliboy Ralepelle’s influence in the final quarter.
Matfield lived up to expectations in his 100th Test, but Habana’s return to Pretoria saw his confidence dip to new lows as he played a full 80 minutes.
Despite De Villiers missing the opportunity to use the home-leg of the Tri-Nations to inject fresh life into the team via on-form Currie Cup players, he believes his plan is working.
‘If you take these past two games together, they provided a good platform for what we’re trying to achieve. If you add each stone on top of the other, it must be about reaching our goals until next year’s World Cup.’
By Grant Ball, in Bloemfontein
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105 Comments
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31 Aug 2010, 11:50 am
I have to admit that I agree with P Divvy’s comment “I have to weigh up two things and I have to look for the perfect balance. I look at what the people want, and what they want to pay for when watching a Test. These are their heroes and they deserve to watch them.”
I have been fortuate enough to have watched the Boks play at Twickenham at the end of November 2006. Yet after months of planning and a substantial amount of money spent, the powers that be decided to send a “B” squad on tour and they ended up losing the first Test which my family & I watched – (although they went on to win the next Test and of course the RWC)
Last year we bought tickets to watch the Boks take on the Lions at Ellis Park. Granted we had already won the Series and were looking ahead to the Tri-Nations, we sent out another “B” team and got a thorough ****-klap by a far slicker Lions outfit. Afterwards it was quite an anti-climax celebrating the Series win after such a hiding.
My point is that although players must obviously be managed to perform at their best, consideration must be given to the Springbok supporter who is dishing out a substantial amount of money to watch our Heroes play. Only to watch them not play (or maybe its just bad timing on my behalf.)
31 Aug 2010, 11:54 am
Habana does not need to be rested.
He needs to be dropped.
31 Aug 2010, 11:57 am
No player would want to be rested in the professional era.
Not playing equals not paying.
You need a strong management team to ensure that self-interested players do not scar the interest of the jersey and its stakeholders.
31 Aug 2010, 15:52 pm
Sorry, but I’ve never heard a bigger load of rubbish. PDV knows he’s going to have one of those post tournament reviews with his bosses. If the boks win on saturday, he’ll be able to say “Look we retained the Mandela plate”, it’s not that bad. Let’s call it one of those incentive conflicts where short term performace is more important than medium term team development.
31 Aug 2010, 19:59 pm
what a joke. The head clown at clown central doesn’t know what he wants, but knows what the public wants? he he hmmm …
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