Conrad Jantjies on the deck with a leg break
After this weekends latest Springbok casualty, Conrad Jantjies broke his leg during the Chiefs VS Stormers game, some questions are being asked by the general rugby loving public, ‘Are top players playing too much rugby?’
I was chatting with a few mates today and have read some comments on one or two of the rugby related sites. From what I’ve seen so far, the opinions seem to go both ways.
One school of thought being that a few Springboks in key positions have been playing far too much non-stop rugby, and it’s beginning to take its toll. The other being that this is their profession, they are rugby players, and therefore should play rugby.
Some of the players currently on the injury list are:
- Jean de Villiers (groin)
- Fourie du Preez (calf)
- Schalk Burger (calf)
- Brian Mujati (concussion)
- Adi Jacobs (shoulder)
- Frans Steyn (knee)
- Andries Bekker (rib)
Injured Springboks playing abroad include:
Butch James (knee) and CJ van der Linde (foot).
Others who have suffered injuries this season, but who have since come back, include Ruan Pienaar (knee), Jaque Fourie (eye), Victor Matfield (shoulder) and Bryan Habana (hand).
Rugby is a contact sport and people do get hurt. Some injuries are preventable by ensuring the players are fully fit. Sometimes coaches seem to jump the gun in rushing players back on the field after an injury, causing a backlash of related injuries. On the other hand some injuries are freak once off happenings like Jantjies breaking his leg in a collision with another player.
In my opinion the players aren’t playing too much rugby, it is a contact sport and they train accordingly, but I also think that they shouldn’t play more than they already are.
This one might be a bit close to call though. I’ll leave it down to the readers to decide.
These guys are professionals at the top of their game playing internationals, provincial and Super 14 rugby throughout a regular season. Injury does invariably become a factor later on, when fitness levels tend to dip. Surely it’s the coaches’ obligation to monitor their players, and impliment some sort of rotation system, to keep them as “fresh” as possible? Yes, as fans we all like seeing our favourite players week-in and week-out, but even though they’re trained to take the knocks, these do tend to add up, and they’re going to need a break sooner or later, or face an extended period on the sidelines.
@ Anton dos Santos, Thanks for the comment mate. I agree, a rotation policy on certain players in key positions may work well, depending on how it’s managed. Its implemented well at UCT who currently have 3 or 4 quality wings.
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