The current rugby calendar is reaching the point of no return as the inclusion of South African teams into European competitions has blurred the lines between Northern and Southern hemisphere teams. The mish mash we currently have is because all the power brokers in the game are looking out for their own interests to the detriment of the players and the spectators. Take the two international windows in June/July and November/December which should be the highlight of the year turns into a farce as either the South or the North are at the end of the season with tired/injured rosters not making it a true reflection of the teams. If the season were aligned and I don’t mean 100% week in and week out but structured in a way that the international windows are the pinnacle and the club weeks fit into the periods in between. This would mean having a synchronized rest period for all international players at the same time. This means the international teams are on the same level playing field as well as the club teams with squads either with or without international players. Take for example the upcoming games after the Six Nations with international players rested or potentially injured with the South African teams awash with Springboks and raring to go.
The problem is that all the local and international teams have contracts with the players that make them employees of such and such teams so they are being played to benefit that team. I understand that and agree if I was in that position I would be looking after my own skin as the life of a coach or administrator is linked to success and can turn in a heartbeat. The easiest way to untangle this collection of individual interests is to have centrally contracted players but this is only done in a handful of countries as the club teams have the money and the power. The irony is that the level of rugby would go up as the players would be fresher and more available than they are currently as the season is too long. Not necessarily too long as in the amount of matches that are played but too long in the months of the year the players are playing/training with not enough rest periods. All the players should have 6/8 weeks off every year at the end of the year to ensure their bodies can recover before the full regime of preseason strength and conditioning starts. Players are getting rest periods in the year not through planning but rather through injury as they are overplayed and under conditioned meaning they are getting more muscle injuries than they should.
So how do you unscramble the egg? It can happen one of two ways. One being World Rugby standing up and saying we have heard all of your concern but this is the calendar in black and white. The problem being that World Rugby is a bureaucratic mess of ex rugby players and career administrators who, like politicians, can be voted in and out so they listen very carefully to how the wind blows not to anger the wrong person. It really is a shame that the people in charge, especially the ex players, who know this is a no brainer for the players welfare cant get it over the line. Rugby is not unique in having plonkers at the top of the game so we shouldn’t be surprised. Option two is far more realistic as it has been done before in America. The power of the game is actually in the media…He who has the money has the power which is why the media execs in America tell the sports how they want the game played, where and when. The sports teams and administrators say yes sir, no sir and do exactly what the media execs say. If the power players in the media who trade in buying and selling the games on TV sit together and agree on what they want to maximize revenue they will get it. The viewers want the best teams playing each other at club and international level which is 100% aligned with one rugby calendar. The TV viewership would go up as the games would be higher quality and the money the media rights make. This strong arm tactic from the media execs would not be difficult to achieve because rugby is not flush with money like soccer and relies heavily on the limited revenue streams it has.
I am not privy to the behind the scenes of why they haven’t pushed forward with the coup d’etat yet but as the quality of games comes into question with viewers turning off games with margins of 50+ points it will happen sooner rather than later. I truly hope that this happens because having this stop start calendar and not knowing who is playing for which team due to being rested or in camp or injured makes for a very frustrating experience. We shall see very soon how the current calendar is working with the June/July window giving us insight into which teams are firing on all cylinders and which are already planning holidays at the end of a long arduous campaign.
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