Gregor Paul: Rejuvenated Sam Cane can replicate Richie McCaw's longevity for All Blacks

OPINION:

Twice now, Sam Cane has had to haul himself through long, gruelling rehabilitation stints after incurring serious injury.

Twice he's been on the canvas as it were, told his journey back to the playing field would be arduous and in one case – after he'd broken his neck in South Africa in 2018 – not by any means certain to have a happy ending.

In the three years since November 2018, Cane has spent about 14 months unable to play rugby, which is why this weekend's test against Italy will mean significantly more to him than perhaps it will to the rest of the country struggling to muster enthusiasm for a fixture that is devoid of glamour and intrigue.

But for Cane it will be his first test start of the year and a resumption of the captaincy duties he was so impressively growing into last year.

While he himself admits his instincts may not be as sharp as he would like them to be given the lack of rugby he's played this year, he'll get round that with his sheer will to be involved.

What he might lack in finesse and anticipation, he'll counter with his desire and commitment, and he'll be aiming, despite the odds being stacked against him, to do enough to persuade everyone he's ready to play against Ireland the following week.

Eking out one more test cap before the end of the year would be a bonus for Cane – the real prize being that, barring disaster, he's almost certain to head into the summer injury-free and his body, having not been smashed around all year, ready to power through a pre-season workload that should see him emerge into Super Rugby next year in the best condition he's been in since his first professional campaign back in 2012.

Rugby keeps knocking Cane down, but he keeps getting back up, and given this ability to rejuvenate himself and recover from the worst the game can throw at him, it's now feasible to imagine that in winning his 75th cap in Rome, he could be marking the halfway point of his test career.

It wasn't so long ago that winning 100 caps was deemed an impossible feat, but now that barrier has pushed out to 150 tests, with one player already passed it and others closing in.

Cane will turn 30 next January and, with that landmark reached, others will inevitably challenge - given the pounding he's taken and the toll that has been inflicted on him over the years - whether he's likely to be in such great shape and dispute his potential longevity.

The sight of an injured Sam Cane has been all-too common over the past few years. Photo / Photosport

This last week, which saw former All Black Carl Hayman reveal the mental health trauma he has endured since retiring from the game, has reinforced the image of the sport as cold and ruthless, inflicting untold and irreversible damage on all those who play it.

But as tragic as it is that Hayman is now struggling the way he is and as true as it is that other former players have also been physically and mentally impaired by years of collisions, professional rugby in New Zealand at least, is not an uncaring relentless machine that commoditises the players, eating them up and then spitting them out.

It's a sport that carries risks, but certainly in the last decade, those risks have been greatly reduced given the duty of care mandate that has pervaded across elite rugby in New Zealand.

Many of the questions raised by Hayman and his fellow professionals who are taking legal action against World Rugby and the Rugby Football Union, have been asked and answered by administrators in this part of the world.

There is limited research to provide a guide on the optimal number of games anyone should play in a season, but what evidence there is suggests that 35 should be the upper limit.

New Zealand's top players rarely exceed 30 games in a season and the elite tier – those in the frame to play test rugby – don't tend to play more than four weeks in succession.

That's because there are contractual requirements built into the Collective Agreement – the terms under which all players are employed – which stipulates that workloads have to be agreed and managed.

Cane knows that when he finishes this tour, he won't play another game until Super Rugby kicks-off in mid-February and that he's entitled to an eight-week period of leave when he returns.

There's no question that the speed, power and size of athletes has intensified the physicality of rugby in the last decade.

It's more gladiatorial than it's been, but so too are the players more resilient and robust than they have ever been and when they are managed with best practice, medical advice, and a duty of care mandate - as Cane has been - it's possible he could still be the All Blacks No 7 and captain come the 2027 World Cup.