Graham Henry calculating a winning workload

All Black coach Graham Henry. Ross Land / Getty Images

When it comes to eye fillet, there is no debate - undercooked is preferable to overcooked. The debate is less simple when it comes to rugby players.

But we will find out at next year's World Cup if a reduced playing workload before the tournament is better preparation than putting players through a clogged fixture list.

Already there have been dissenting voices to the unconfirmed plans of All Black coach Graham Henry to take 22 of his players out of the first seven weeks of next year's Super 14.

Henry believes that by the time his 30-man All Black squad returns from their European tour in December this year, they will need an extended rest and reconditioning window.

The All Blacks will play 13 tests this year and many of the country's leading players were asked to front every week during the Super 14.

With an earlier start to next year's Super 14 expected, and seven tests to be squeezed in before the September kick-off at the World Cup, Henry is fearful that without an extended break from playing, many of his best players will arrive in France mentally and physically drained, as well as lacking the necessary conditioning.

It is a view shared by Australian and South African coaches John Connolly and Jake White, with reports suggesting that both New Zealand's Sanzar partners will follow suit and rest leading players during the early rounds of next year's Super 14.

This highly-managed approach will be in stark contrast to the route taken by the northern hemisphere's leading teams. No World Cup has ever seen the leading contenders follow such disparate preparation paths.

Reigning world champions England have the toughest, most disjointed slog. Their leading players arrived back from a two-test series against Australia late last month.

While they are entitled to a 12-week rest, past experience shows very few players are actually afforded a break of that length.

The Guinness Premiership will kick off on September 1, which is only nine weeks from the date the official rest period began for the test players. While the competing clubs have agreed not to play those who toured Australia until they have had 12 weeks' rest, very few have stuck to the deal in previous seasons.

A number of test players have opted to play before the end of their 12-week rest window. While they have said the choice to return early has been theirs, speculation persists that the clubs might have applied some pressure behind the scenes.

The failure to observe that negotiated rest-window highlights the fractious nature of the relationship between England's clubs and the Rugby Football Union.

The difficulty of that relationship may ultimately be the core reason England fail to retain the William Webb Ellis trophy.

There has been little co-operation between the pair since former England coach Clive Woodward managed to take the test players out of club rugby for 263 days in the build-up to the 2003 World Cup.

Such goodwill will not be shown in the build-up to the 2007 tournament. The clubs are already taking legal action to avoid having to release players for the recently scheduled test against the All Blacks in November this year.

The clubs pay their stars big sums and want them to be available for pre-season this month, all the way through to the Premiership final on May 13.

Crammed in between the 24 weekends of Premiership action is the Heineken Cup and Powergen Cup - a cross-border competition with the leading Welsh clubs.

English rugby is big business and the clubs have major financial obligations to sponsors, broadcasters and fans to field their best teams.

But just as the clubs are looking for their pound of flesh, so is the RFU, with England due to play four tests in November, the Six Nations in February, March and April, and June tests in the Southern Hemisphere.

The players are set to be the losers in all this - pushed and pulled between their two paymasters with no one acting in their best interests.

Most of their players will arrive in France having played at least 40 games in the preceeding 12 months. Those who went on the Lions tour last year will have had little more than 10 weeks off in the past two years.

The Irish, Welsh and Scots will play only marginally less between now and the World Cup.

The Celtic League runs from September through to April and, like the English clubs, they will also have to squeeze in Heineken Cup games, November internationals, the Six Nations, and June tests.

The one big difference, though, is that the Welsh, Irish and Scottish players are centrally contracted, which means clubs can be ordered to rest certain individuals for specific periods during the season.

The French have a similar set-up to England but the clubs in that country have a more harmonious relationship with the union.

Still, the French season is one of the longest and runs from September to June with no break before the players have to front for tests.

When details of Henry's plans first leaked, there were plenty in New Zealand who reckoned he was crazy. But in Europe they are watching with envious stares, as they would do anything to be afforded a similarly sympathetic build-up.