KEY POINTS:
Intention and outcome never seem quite aligned with the New Zealand Rugby Union. In recent years, there have been strong messages about player welfare, building a longer pre-season and restoring the integrity of test football.
Then last week, it was revealed the 2009 Super 14 will start on
Waitangi Day - a week earlier than normal, which will give those All Blacks who tour at the end of the year barely three weeks' preparation after their month off in December.
The Super 14 has to start earlier to fit an extra playoff round. Sanzar couldn't push the tournament a week later because they have test commitments - in New Zealand's case against a half-strength French side.
The NZRU is taking a double risk by agreeing to this early Super 14 start. It is pushing the players to breaking point with such a short turnaround.
Elite athletes need more than three weeks' conditioning. Those All Blacks who return from Europe at the end of December will be match fit but, for long-term performance, need to rebuild their base physical strength and lay down an aerobic base that will see them through the next 12 months.
New Zealand's players might wonder why their rugby union is asking them to forfeit this vital preparation period while the French do everything to protect their players. The French have already said players involved in their club final on June 6 will not play the All Blacks on June 13. Their intention will align with the outcome - it always does with the French.
The NZRU also risk alienating, or further alienating, the rugby public. February 6 is high summer. Can fans really be enthused for 10 months solid?
The All Blacks play England at Twickenham on November 29 this year. Nine Saturdays later, Super 14 will start. There will be warm-up games in mid-January.
In 2007, viewing figures for Super 14 tumbled. Much of that was due to the withdrawal of 22 All Blacks from the early rounds. But, as the NZRU was keen to stress in the wake of the World Cup disaster, the slump was intensified by the early start to the season. The 2007 Super 14 kicked off on February 2 because the Tri Nations had to be truncated and brought forward to be finished before the September 7 start of the World Cup.
Conversely, while viewing numbers were down in 2007, the NZRU's domestic broadcast partner, Sky TV, was quite relaxed about the situation. Delighted even. The early start to the rugby season just meant there was more choice for their subscribers and that is again how the media giant is viewing 2009.
It's the perfect outcome for Sky. The early start provides a longer window to use rugby as the marketing hook to sell subscriptions. Yet when the viewing numbers are inevitably lower, it strengthens their case to pay a lower price to buy a broadcast rights package when negotiations kick off next year.
