Why breaking isn’t bad for the ABs
OPINION: The personable Chiefs and All Blacks prop Kane Hames is discussing the end of-season tour, holidays and the exodus overseas when the value of the All Blacks’ break from rugby becomes clear.
‘‘After the Wales game [in November last last year] I had already started thinking about Nelson [his home town],’’ he says. ‘‘When the fulltime whistle went I knew that I was going back home.
‘‘I don’t get to spend a lot of time there every year. So once that whistle went I know there were a lot of boys excited about getting to see their loved ones and get to spend a good break with them.’’
Aotearoa, whanau and yes, probably the beach: that’s where the All Blacks’ minds are at the end of a long season.
The 12-week break the All Blacks give them may irk Super Rugby coaches but the mental refreshment is key: and it is a part of the package that has kept the All Blacks on top for so long.
There is a physical element to it as well of course. By the end of 2017 players such as Sam Whitelock were running on fumes. But it is not as if conditioning goes out the window over December and January.
As Hames puts it: ‘‘If you turn up in bad shape you’ll have a pretty tough year.’’
But it’s clear the intention of the time off is to wash the players’ minds of rugby content, as much is possible anyway. No video clips to study, no messages from the coaches to discuss performance, no eyes peering over the shoulder.
‘‘What happens it that you leave the environment and that’s it, they leave you alone for the break,’’ Hames says.
‘‘It’s a genuine break. Nobody calls you, nobody texts you. You are not required to anything specific.
‘‘I spent a lot of time training with [personal trainer] Glenn Stewart in Nelson. I spent nearly every day with him. But other than that I didn’t do any team stuff.
‘‘I didn’t do any scrummaging, there wasn’t any sort of rugby environment at all, and that is mentally refreshing when you’ve played the amount of rugby I did last year, from late January to early December.’’ Kurtley Beale has questioned Brad Thorn’s decision to leave Quade Cooper out of Queensland’s plans this season, saying his former Wallabies team-mate is a matchwinner who at least deserves to be picked up by another Super Rugby franchise.
Thorn has told Cooper not to turn up to Reds training for the time being, meaning the 29-year-old is set to take home a six-figure salary this year by playing club rugby in Brisbane.
While Cooper wasn’t in careerbest form last year, to leave him out of the club’s plan is a perplexing decision by Thorn, who clearly wants to take a stance and create a solid culture at the Reds.
Beale said it was surprising to see Cooper get the axe given his ability to change the momentum of a game.
‘‘There’s something going on up there,’’ Beale said.
That the players need the spell away is of little surprise.
Top players in New Zealand spend large parts of the year away from family and for the rest of the time they are operating on other peoples’ schedules. Be at training at this time, the airport at that time, recovery at such a time.
‘‘He’s one of the biggest gamebreakers in the game and it’d be silly for him not to have a club this year because with his talent. He could be the difference between winning and losing.
‘‘I’m sure they’ll be able to work
It is a privileged life but it is rigid. The danger of going stale is omnipresent.
There’s another element to it as well. Hames is contracted until the end of 2019 but is refreshingly honest about the discussions taking place among the players about moves overseas. something out over there. I’ve always wished him all the best and I’m sure he’ll pick up something. I’ve seen over his social media, he’s one of the best trainers in the game.’’
Speculation is Thorn and Cooper don’t see eye-to-eye. There are
‘‘A lot of boys talk about it. Conversations are always happening,’’ he says.
Yet those talks are not just about how many zeroes there are on a contract.
Kiwis who play overseas and return to New Zealand for mini breaks – La Rochelle recruit whispers Cooper has an attitude problem, but Beale refuted that.
‘‘Quade’s a great guy, he’s very humble and very grounded,’’ Beale said.
‘‘He’s got a great view on the game and sometimes that may clash with other views of the game. That’s pretty special to have someone that can see the game differently to others.’’
Cooper has also fallen out of favour with Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, who snubbed the 70-test playmaker for his Rugby Championship squad last year.
This was after picking Cooper in all three Wallabies tests – albeit off the bench – in June against Fiji, Scotland and Italy.
Former Wallabies wing Drew Mitchell agreed with Beale that Australian rugby would be worse off without Cooper filling a hole at Super Rugby level.
But Mitchell is happy Thorn has
Tawera Kerr-Barlow has been floating around the Chiefs’ gym – are pumped for information about what player welfare and lifestyles are like. They want to know if they are going to be flogged.
The All Blacks’ 12-week break is part of New Zealand Rugby’s package of incentives to keep its shed more light on the reason why he punted Cooper – because he wanted a ‘‘change of direction’’.
‘‘Whoever snaps him up will get a player that has a huge amount of experience and a great work ethic . . . it’d be a shame if we don’t see him playing in Australia,’’ Mitchell said.
‘‘He’s still got a lot to give. For the moment, it’s not going to be at the Reds.
‘‘It’s Brad’s prerogative, he’s the head coach. Like he said, sometimes you’ve got to make bold choices and big calls and your season is going to be judged on those calls. I think it’s good now we’ve got that understanding as to why he went the direction he went.
‘‘As a mate, I feel for Quade. I spent some time with him here and when he played with us at Toulon. I don’t know if he’s got anything in the pipeline or if he’s just keeping fit for the moment to see whether something does come up.’’
players in the country when they have better financial offers on the table.
It is a burden on Super Rugby coaches but this is an imperfect world: in rugby’s crowded calendar compromises must be made to reinvigorate players for the toil ahead.