Rugby: All Blacks casualty ward on red alert

All Blacks midfield backs Anton Lienert-Brown, Jack Goodhue, Sonny Bill and Ngani Laumape at All Blacks training session at University Oval in Dunedin. Photo / Brett Phibbs.

Test series won and progress made, now the All Blacks coaches have to sit helpless for the next six weeks fearful that an already dramatic injury toll will rise as a result of the increased intensity, travel and lack of rest that is inherent in the last stages of Super Rugby.

Since Super Rugby expanded to 15 teams in 2011, this post-June period has been the most fraught and difficult for the elite players to manage workloads and deal with the relentless demands made of them.

It's been at this point in previous years when some good players have suddenly hit the wall, struggled to produce their best form and looked off the pace.

It has also been a notorious period for injuries - too many consecutive big games taking their toll and the All Blacks robbed of star talent for the Bledisloe Cup.

Which is hardly surprising given that there is no break between Super Rugby and the June tests.

Those players involved with the All Blacks came into the series having played tough Super Rugby games seven days before the first test and some will now be playing Super Rugby just six days after the last test.

The All Blacks had to start the June series without senior men such as Dane Coles, Brodie Retallick, Kieran Read and Sonny Bill Williams and were then forced to call in various injury replacements to cover for the likes of Liam Squire, Jordan Taufua, Vaea Fifita and Beauden Barrett.

All of those players are on track to be fit for the Rugby Championship but it will be miraculous if there are no casualties between now and the first Bledisloe Cup game on August 18, especially as there is the real prospect of one or two New Zealand teams potentially having to travel to South Africa for playoff games.

All Blacks midfield back Sonny Bill Williams with head strength and conditioning coach Nic Gill, during an All Blacks gym session at Les Mills in Dunedin. Photo / Brett Phibbs.

"It is a sign of the times because of the way our Super competition is set up," said All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.

"We [NZ teams] play each other twice and they are massive games. I think everyone knows the Super competition is going to get some changes so we will see what happens. On top of that, you have got all the travel so you have some weary athletes and that always creates risk of injury."

The only solace to be found in the current situation is that this year is the last time players will have to transition in and out of Super Rugby around international games.

Next year Super Rugby will run without a break as there are no June tests because of the World Cup.

And in 2020 the June window is going to be shifted to July, to allow for Super Rugby - in whatever format it takes - to play out entirely before the Northern Hemisphere sides travel South to play tests.

As much as it will be a relief to the All Blacks coaches to have a new schedule, so too will Super Rugby coaches be delighted to not have to welcome back their test players mid-campaign in various states of disrepair.

It's a tricky skill to transition test players back into Super Rugby, particularly as some will be fatigued and others eager to keep going. In previous years the team that has ended up winning Super Rugby has been the one that has handled the post-test interlude the best and struck the right balance of when to play and when to rest their All Blacks.

For the table-topping Crusaders, the picture is mixed. They will feel they have mostly benefited from the June tests and have also lucked out by having a bye this weekend.
Owen Franks and Joe Moody came into the tests having barely played this year so their game time against France has been a bonus - sharpened them up and got them in form for what lies ahead.

Sam Whitelock had also missed three weeks leading into the series due to concussion, but the heavy workload endured by Codie Taylor and Scott Barrett against France may see them used sparingly when they initially return to action.

The Chiefs will be content that Karl Tu'inukuafe has greatly advanced as a player in the last three weeks but may have been emotionally drained by the experience, while the two tests Sam Cane played should see him report for duty with plenty left in his tank having not played for a month before the first test.

Luke Whitelock powered through all three tests and may feel the impact of the Fijian heat when he plays in Suva on Saturday for the Highlanders against the Chiefs, but the plus side for them is that they will have two new All Blacks in Shannon Frizell and Jackson Hemopo which may see them both lift their performance in the next six weeks given their probable new-found confidence.

As for the Hurricanes, they won't have access to Ardie Savea for another four weeks due to an ankle injury he incurred in the third test, while Jeffery Toomaga-Allen and Nehe Milner-Skudder are going to need to play after not being involved in any of the tests.