Top All Blacks may need to be rested this week. Photos / Photosport
Top All Blacks may need to be rested this week. Photos / Photosport
Several top All Blacks, including Brodie Retallick, Scott Barrett, Jordie Barrett and Ben Smith, are in the red zone already as far as their Super Rugby playing minutes are concerned.
The spotlight will this week go on the team selections of all five New Zealand franchises because, as per thewelfare agreement struck between New Zealand Rugby and the All Blacks and franchise coaches, none of the nation's top players are supposed to play more than 180 minutes over the first three rounds.
After two rounds, Highlanders fullback Smith and his Hurricanes counterpart Jordie Barrett have played two full games for a total of 160 minutes. Crusaders lock Scott Barrett, outstanding for the defending champions against the Blues and Hurricanes, has played 130 minutes, with Chiefs captain Retallick on 146.
The welfare agreement – designed to enhance the ability of New Zealand's top players to make it to the World Cup in Japan without burning out mentally and physically - was made at the end of last year but a cluster of New Zealand derbies and some difficult games abroad has put that agreement under pressure already.
Fortunately, perhaps, there are no New Zealand derbies this weekend, but the Hurricanes, thrashed by the Crusaders in Christchurch, face a potentially difficult fixture against the Brumbies in Palmerston North, with the Highlanders and Crusaders also up against rejuvenated Australian opposition.
The Chiefs, with two losses in their first two matches, should have an easier task against the Sunwolves in Hamilton, but the Blues, also with no wins, face a much tougher challenge against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.
Top All Blacks may need to be rested this week. Photos / Photosport
In a Newstalk ZB interview at the weekend, All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen outlined the background to the player welfare agreement held late last year.
"Everyone was in agreement and everyone had an opportunity to talk about what their needs were and all of those needs were bottled up into what we've got now. It wasn't a matter of us saying guys can't play," Hansen told Martin Devlin.
"This has been done in a partnership and I think it gives New Zealand rugby an advantage over all the other nations. The only other nation that has an ability to do this is Ireland. And they do it by dictatorship, they say 'he's not playing'. We've sat around a table and worked out a programme for everybody – it's a partnership. We've all had to give a bit."
It's probably time for the Super Rugby coaches to start giving because part of the agreement was to ease their top men into the season by replacing them during the first couple of weeks but Ben Smith and Luke Whitelock, two senior Highlanders, have played every minute so far, as has Jordie Barrett, who shook off a knock to a knee in Christchurch.
Retallick, who marked his 100th match for the Chiefs in their big loss to the Brumbies in Canberra, almost certainly won't start against the Sunwolves, with key midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown's minutes also creeping up, but Colin Cooper's men are already up against it and the same goes for the Blues and their coach Leon MacDonald.
Wing Rieko Ioane, a key back for the Blues and All Blacks, has played 137 minutes over two rounds but with MacDonald's options limited after travelling to Argentina from their defeat to the Sharks in Durban, it's hard to imagine Ioane being left out of the starting XV against the Jaguares.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson is in a slightly easier position, despite having so many All Blacks to juggle. For one, he has the luxury of going to Brisbane to play the Reds with two victories in the bag, plus he has a relatively fit squad (injured wing Manasa Mataele apart) and plenty of depth.
In Luke Romano, Robertson has an obvious, quality, alternative as Scott Barrett's replacement, and the same goes for Braydon Ennor, who could easily slot into the midfield instead of Ryan Crotty. The Crusaders coach is also likely to give the returning hooker Codie Taylor an extra week off.
Taylor, who had a huge workload with the All Blacks last year, was due to be available this weekend but is unlikely to make the trip to Suncorp Stadium.
"We want to get him to a certain level of running and amount of time training," said Robertson after the Crusaders went to a record 17 wins in a row with a 38-22 victory over the Hurricanes. "He's potentially not quite there."
All Blacks in red zone: Playing minutes after two rounds - round one in brackets
Blues Rieko Ioane 57 (80) Patrick Tuipulotu 52 (80)
