Opinion: New Zealand leads the way as Super Rugby Aotearoa begins

New Zealand is setting the tone; the country that has given us the all-conquering three-time rugby world cup champions have once again set the benchmark. The Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa (Maori for the Land of the Long White Cloud) campaign starts this weekend. 

This return marks the first time that crowds have been welcomed back for professional sport since the world went into lockdown due to Covid-19. Super Rugby Aotearoa is the first major rugby union tournament to resume since the outbreak, and the first major sports event in the world at which there will be no limitation on crowd size. The Bundesliga in Germany set the scene for professional sport a few weeks back. However, this is a different precedent. Crowds. The energy of the stadium. Raucous noise. The world will be watching this weekend. The blueprint is there.

The five-nation Super Rugby tournament was suspended in March because of international travel restrictions and quarantine enforcements. New Zealand created the Super Rugby Aotearoa tournament to resume professional rugby in their own backward, across both islands. New Zealand’s five Super Rugby teams will play each other home and away over 10 weeks - the teams involved will be the Blues (from Auckland), Hurricanes (Wellington), Crusaders (Canterbury), Highlanders (Otago) and the Chiefs (Waikato). 

The decision of the New Zealand government on Monday to drop all restrictions on the size of public gatherings means social distancing is no longer required, and sports can take place in stadiums full of supporters. New Zealand has no current cases of the coronavirus. The Blues expect as many as 30,000 or more to attend Sunday’s match against the Hurricanes – there will be several All Blacks playing.

When the season was suspended due to the Covid-19 Pandemic after seven rounds in March, the Highlanders sat at the bottom of the New Zealand conference and faced a bleak and daunting road to make the playoffs. 

That can be wiped away and forgotten now, as the Highlanders move back to equal standing with all their counterparts in Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa. They play against the Chiefs Saturday. Highlanders head coach, and former creative Crusaders centre Aaron Mauger will be able to call on a new player in the back-line; the Highlanders have boosted their outside back division with the high-profile signing of the sparkling and electrifying, but oft-injured 2015 Rugby World Cup winner Nehe Milner-Skudder. There should be tries.

Blues chief executive, and former Test hooker Andrew Hore stated that 20,000 tickets to the match had been sold in the opening 24 hours since the government announced the move to alert level 1, which imposes no limits on fans. This game could involve the selection of the world-class pacey and explosive flanker Ardie Savea. Savea has been recovering since injuring his knee during the rugby world cup semi-final against England in 2019; the pandemic restrictions would have had an impact on his rehabilitation, and this must play in the mind of head coach, and ex-Munster player Jason Holland. 

Like Savea, former Munster cult hero Jason “Dutchy” Holland will have to manage his squad very closely these coming weeks; training, contact and match intensity will have been progressed periodically in order to adequately prepare the players for game-time to avoid injuries after a prolonged break from action. Testing and benchmarking of key parameters of fitness, muscular endurance, strength, and power will have taken place. Muscle readiness will be compared to levels of pre-season or at the last testing point by the medical and performance staff before the break. 

Players were at a high intensity when Super Rugby games were suspended a few months ago, and the break has been like a long off, or pre-season. Despite training at home players probably have not been able to do normal exercise routines, meaning a potential drop in levels of fitness and strength – case in point being Ardie Savea. 

That combined with a short period of time to get back to high training levels, recover and complete this unique tournament means that players could be more susceptible to muscle strains, ligament damage and preventable injuries. There could be more hamstring injuries because players might not have been doing the same chronic workloads or being able to sprint the necessary distance at home. High speed accelerations and decelerations, as measured by GPS sports science equipment is one of the gold standards for hamstring strength integrity.

A lack of match sharpness is an obvious concern for performance staff and management. Players may try too hard now, with more tension than normal...force the game even. 

They may play with less flow, and it may be difficult to find that rhythm usually there with regular competitive play. In professional sports, patience and timing are huge factors in making impactful decisions and giving the impression of a player having more time and space when on the ball. It will be fascinating to watch the kickers this weekend; will they continue as before the long time-out or will they be stiffer, less composed and more mechanical? 

Beauden Barrett is in a fortunate position this week as he has the ideal mentor to assist on these technical, tactical and mental elements – the legendary Dan Carter has signed with the Blues so who better to discuss the nuances of match-play at the pivotal out-half position, or first five-eight as they say in New Zealand. 

A player who was injured a few seasons ago and sat out a lengthy period may be well prepared mentally for a return to action this coming weekend. That player would be attuned to coming back to rugby after a long spell on the side-lines. Mindset and resiliency would be there in spades. Perhaps that player would reflect on what served him well to get that sharpness back then; remember Ryan Giggs practicing visual acuity drills at the recommendation of Sir Alex Ferguson?

New Zealand Rugby announced three rule modifications in preparing for the tournament's June 13 kick-off. As per the NRL's golden point system, if matches are drawn after 80 minutes, teams will go into a 10-minute period of extra time. The first team to score any points will win the game. Red-carded players will also be able to be replaced after 20 minutes in another big change. If a player is sent off, that player will not be able to return to the field; however, their team can replace them after 20 minutes in the bin. 

Thirdly, breakdown laws will also be applied more strictly in the competition to help incentivise a more expansive and faster contest. 

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