We Need To Manage Players To Avoid Burn-Out

SOMETIMES, like on Saturday, when we Senior Citizens, as we occasionally do – go ape shit at a Scotland victory, some young whipper-snapper will caution us to: “Keep the heid grandpaw, what are you getting so worked-up about?”

Huw Jones might benefit from a summer break

We cannot really say: “Wait till you've had the number of scunnerings I've endured at the hands of the English, then, you will know why we lose it when we gubb them;” that knowledge and experience has to be learned, endured even. Also, as I have been forced to reveal to younger Tartan Army foot soldiers, when I am roaring-on Scotland with a fervour which does not become my great age: “I am shouting for a few guys who are no longer here to shout with me.”

One of the joys/sorrows of being a Scottish Rugby Philosopher is, I have to reflect on any deeper significances of victories such as Saturday. Sure, I enjoyed Saturday night, and Sunday, but, today, I have to look for lessons we can learn from victory.

And, that got me thinking about Wee Bill – a rather good scrum-half, an even better club official, sadly taken far-too-early by the big C. Bill was old school, he thought Rugby Union sold its soul when it went open and wanted nothing to do with the game. He forecast many of the problems which have arisen following the August 1995 change, and, he certainly was right when he said, the professional side of the game would become, to the guys at Murrayfield, the be-all and end-all, to the detriment of the club game he loved.

I would like to think, had he been spared, Bill would be with me in opposing Super Six and what it stands for.

He did say, the need to keep making more money, to drive professionalism forward, would lengthen the season, increase the demands on players, and lead to more instances of player burn-out.

Back in the early 1970s, just as the Scottish Leagues began, Bill, who was still only in his mid-twenties, opted-out of first XV play. He had just got married and taken over the family firm, he could not afford the time required to train for the new league structure – even then, “more professional”, if not actually “professional”, so, he, and it has to be said, one or two contemporaries, stepped down to play for his club's 4^th XV – the social side.

That side was good, at least six of them could still, had they had the inclination, have played in the 1^st XV, but, they would not have enjoyed it, and, in any case they were having too-much fun where they were.

Just about every club had that sort of side back then, training was an option, having fun was compulsory Today, very few clubs still have that sort of side. You still get such teams in hockey, in “pub teams” in Sunday Leagues and at the lower leagues in amateur football, but, in rugby – such teams come into the category of “rocking horse shit.”

Another unsung aspect of the social side is, while they have a hard core of battle-toughened forwards, they also tended to include one or two young whippets, or if you were lucky greyhounds, to do the running. These kids got the best kind of coaching – on-field, in real game time – and were often the better for it when, as they did, they moved up to serious rugby. Doesn't happen today, sadly.

Another thing from back then, we had definite seasons. You could not play 15-a-side before 1 September, or after 30 April, without permission from Murrayfield – which was rarely given. Players, even the very best guys, unless on a Lion's or a national tour, got a decent break.

Today's top guys are being flogged mercilessly. They are making so-much money, their clubs and the national unions, need to keep working them through increasingly long seasons, to generate the necessary cash.

Andrew Ker - perhaps the last double internationalist

Never again, for instance, will we see double internationalists such as Norman Mair, David Bell or Andrew Ker, able to play at the top level in Rugby Union during the winter and cricket in the summer. And, as I have said before, given the attrition rate in modern rugby, careers will shorten.

I reckon one of the reasons behind Scotland's win over England on Saturday was, our guys had, across the two squads, played fewer games. The English clubs work their players harder than the SRU does the Edinburgh and Glasgow guys – their clubs do not have the SRU's player rotation protocols. England had more players with the Lions than we had – there was a fatigue element in play, and, when we started to play our “organised chaos” game, the English could not cope.

But, I think, Murrayfield should be looking more-carefully at player management. The 2019 World Cup starts on 20 September, 2019 – 80 weeks away. In those 80 weeks, our top players have to cram: the sharp end of the 2017-18 PRO14 season, including the play-offs, a short summer tour to North America, the full 2018-19 PRO14 season, plus the 2018-19 European games, the 2018 Autumn Internationals, the 2019 6Nations, plus warm-up games prior to Japan – that's a Hell of a lot of rugby.

I honestly feel one or two of our players would be nane the waur o' a summer break this year. Huw Jones, for instance, came straight off a Super Rugby/Currie Cup season into a full Glasgow/Scotland one. We could easily leave him at home this summer, and send Mark Bennett and Matt Scott, both of whom have been relatively under-played this season, off with Scotland.

 Leaving Jonny Gray to enjoy a summer off might be a good idea

Likewise, Jonny Gray has been hard-worked over the last two years; give him the summer off, while maybe Richie might benefit from the trip in his place. We have enough props to pick from, while we maybe should be looking at giving some of our second-string breakaways a chance to show what they could do.

I know in football, agreements regarding summer tours often call for some, if not all, the “stars” to play – maybe we should allow the likes of Messrs Barclay and Russell a wee break, to get their house moves sorted out and keep them fresh with an eye on 2019.