Cooper would have ABs rest rule tweaked

Chiefs coach Colin Cooper has called for a simpler rule on the Super Rugby rest policy of All Blacks players: have them sit out the first three weeks of the competition altogether.

His comments come in the wake of the juggling act coaches of Kiwi Super teams are facing, in compliance with New Zealand Rugby’s policy around the management of their top personnel heading into the World Cup.

The directive from All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is that his players must each sit out two games of the Super season, but along with that is the added 180-minute cap of game-time over the first three rounds.

Clearly, it’s a fine balancing act to adhere to, and one Cooper would rather see tackled in a slightly different way.

‘‘I think they should just cut them out of the first three games, then it’s plain and simple,’’ he said. ‘‘You can have a good plan but injuries always muck that up.’’

This was the case for Cooper with his captain, Brodie Retallick, who has tallied 147 minutes over the first two rounds.

‘‘We had a plan to take him off in the Brumbies game but obviously Michael Allardice got injured, so he had to play the whole 80.’’

That leaves Retallick with just 33 minutes for this Saturday’s game against the Sunwolves in Hamilton, but Cooper is set to run him out again, and did indicate there was at least some leeway allowed from the All Blacks staff. ‘‘They’re rugby men,’’ he said. ‘‘We try and stick to the plan, but injuries happen in this game of ours all the time.

‘‘World Cup year is important to the country. We all want what’s best for the players. But it’s hard to manage in Super at the moment, the way it is.

‘‘I’m just saying a simple process [would be good]. Is that the easiest way to do it, rather than minutes? Because they [All Blacks players] had no pre-season at all either, so you knock them out of the first three games and then we all know where we are, they know where they are.’’

‘‘They should just cut them [All Blacks] out of the first three games, then it’s plain and simple.’’

Chiefs coach Colin Cooper, left