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I made a post similar to this in the thread about Ireland's autumn international squad. The player welfare system is ineffective in the sense that there are few enough tangible benefits in terms of lower injury rates in comparison with our direct rivals (ie. the other home nations, in particular Wales as they have a similar number of clubs, players, etc. while not having a player protection scheme.) Going into the Autumn internationals Ireland could be without the following high profile internationals:
- Brian O'Driscoll
- Paul O'Connell
- Stephen Ferris
- Sean O'Brien
- Rory Best
- Cian Healy
- Rob Kearney
- Luke Fitzgerald
- Declan Fitzpatrick
Unfortunately Ronan O'Gara has reported fit and available.
What is striking is that these are the players who one would imagine that the player welfare scheme is designed to protect, ie. our most important internationals. Clearly if we're going into test series with this number of injuries to key players then the system is either ineffective or counter productive.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for looking after our players. They're our greatest asset and no matter how talented a coach or professional a set up, you're not going to get anywhere if you can't regularly put out your best side. I just don't think that this is the correct way to go about it. Another example of the ineffectiveness of the player welfare scheme has been the lack of injuries that our high profile imports have sustained over the past number of seasons. Last year Isa Nacewa played 27 games for Leinster. Heinke Van Der Merwe played in 31 and Richard Strauss in 29. In the other provinces Wian du Preez played 28, BJ Botha 23, Ruan Pienaar 19 (with international duty), John Afoa 17 and Johann Muller 18. While there have been injuries to some of these guys, Dougie Howlett and Jared Payne last season for example, they seem to be no more common than within the player welfare scheme panel. Indeed, most of these guys were still playing excellent rugby at the end of the season despite all the games, contrary to the popular belief that more games means progressively poorer performances.
In my opinion having a fragmented yet protracted season does little for helping players avoid injury. If you're training for 9 months at high intensity you're still likely to pick up knocks even if you do only play one of every two games. I don't believe that allowing our marquee players to play more league games will have a negative effect on the number of injuries, and may even result in players being sharper and in better shape for the internationals. What's better for building form, a string of first team performances going into a major tournament or arseing about playing a game every three weeks or so? There's a reason we have three warm up's before the world cup you know.
That brings me neatly onto my final point. In my opinion the real cause of the large amounts of injuries we're getting at the moment is the length, not the number of games, of the season. Last year being a World Cup year saw the season begin in August. For Leinster and Ulster players the domestic season then ran on until the end of May. After that they had to play three matches against the most talented and intense side in the world, meaning that after 9 months they have to go and player their toughest games of the year when they should be recuperating. An essentially pointless three week period tagged onto an already overly lengthy season. If the IRFU truly cared about player welfare they would reduce the length of the season. If that means ditching a tour once every two years or whatever then so be it. Sean O'Brien had to go down to New Zealand to play two tests against the All Blacks when he already required surgery. Does that sound like the IRFU looking out for player welfare. Of course not. The current system in nonsensical and riddled with hypocrisy.
In recent years we've seen the likes of Jerry Flannery, Denis Leamy and David Wallace all retire primarily due to injury (although in fairness to Wally the clock was ticking.) Stephen Ferris is almost certain to go the same way, while Paul O'Connell and Luke Fitzgerald have both hardly played over the past two seasons. All of these players were supposedly protected under the player welfare scheme, yet here we are. The system doesn't work and probably does more harm than good. If the IRFU really want to enhance player welfare they'll reduce their international calendar.
Discuss.
- Brian O'Driscoll
- Paul O'Connell
- Stephen Ferris
- Sean O'Brien
- Rory Best
- Cian Healy
- Rob Kearney
- Luke Fitzgerald
- Declan Fitzpatrick
Unfortunately Ronan O'Gara has reported fit and available.
What is striking is that these are the players who one would imagine that the player welfare scheme is designed to protect, ie. our most important internationals. Clearly if we're going into test series with this number of injuries to key players then the system is either ineffective or counter productive.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for looking after our players. They're our greatest asset and no matter how talented a coach or professional a set up, you're not going to get anywhere if you can't regularly put out your best side. I just don't think that this is the correct way to go about it. Another example of the ineffectiveness of the player welfare scheme has been the lack of injuries that our high profile imports have sustained over the past number of seasons. Last year Isa Nacewa played 27 games for Leinster. Heinke Van Der Merwe played in 31 and Richard Strauss in 29. In the other provinces Wian du Preez played 28, BJ Botha 23, Ruan Pienaar 19 (with international duty), John Afoa 17 and Johann Muller 18. While there have been injuries to some of these guys, Dougie Howlett and Jared Payne last season for example, they seem to be no more common than within the player welfare scheme panel. Indeed, most of these guys were still playing excellent rugby at the end of the season despite all the games, contrary to the popular belief that more games means progressively poorer performances.
In my opinion having a fragmented yet protracted season does little for helping players avoid injury. If you're training for 9 months at high intensity you're still likely to pick up knocks even if you do only play one of every two games. I don't believe that allowing our marquee players to play more league games will have a negative effect on the number of injuries, and may even result in players being sharper and in better shape for the internationals. What's better for building form, a string of first team performances going into a major tournament or arseing about playing a game every three weeks or so? There's a reason we have three warm up's before the world cup you know.
That brings me neatly onto my final point. In my opinion the real cause of the large amounts of injuries we're getting at the moment is the length, not the number of games, of the season. Last year being a World Cup year saw the season begin in August. For Leinster and Ulster players the domestic season then ran on until the end of May. After that they had to play three matches against the most talented and intense side in the world, meaning that after 9 months they have to go and player their toughest games of the year when they should be recuperating. An essentially pointless three week period tagged onto an already overly lengthy season. If the IRFU truly cared about player welfare they would reduce the length of the season. If that means ditching a tour once every two years or whatever then so be it. Sean O'Brien had to go down to New Zealand to play two tests against the All Blacks when he already required surgery. Does that sound like the IRFU looking out for player welfare. Of course not. The current system in nonsensical and riddled with hypocrisy.
In recent years we've seen the likes of Jerry Flannery, Denis Leamy and David Wallace all retire primarily due to injury (although in fairness to Wally the clock was ticking.) Stephen Ferris is almost certain to go the same way, while Paul O'Connell and Luke Fitzgerald have both hardly played over the past two seasons. All of these players were supposedly protected under the player welfare scheme, yet here we are. The system doesn't work and probably does more harm than good. If the IRFU really want to enhance player welfare they'll reduce their international calendar.
Discuss.
