Warburton exit must be wakeup call on welfare
“If the best players miss the odd tour to be in best possible condition then it’s worth it”
Sam Warburton’s shock retirement last week hit me for six and really got me thinking. The news caught everyone by surprise, but the biggest thing for me to contemplate was how a man who is still just 29 has had to call it quits at the highest level.
We all know Sam has had a long list of injuries to deal with and when you miss a whole season – as he did last year – then there are always going to be concerns about your fitness.
If you look at Sam’s career, he’s had the full MOT. You name it, and he’s had it fixed! But at the same time, to retire before you’re 30 is still very early. My response was to look at the game as a whole and not just Sam as an individual case. Should rugby be worried? What can it do differently to stop more players from suffering the same fate as Sam?
These are complex questions because no two players are the same, but Sam’s forced retirement spelled out one thing to me loud and clear. We must look after our top players better.
If we don’t, sadly I think we might see more and more guys forced into ending their careers early.
Before I continue, I need to make it clear I’m not saying Sam wasn’t looked after over the course of his time in the game. If anything – and Sam acknowledged this in his retirement statement – he was dealt with better than most both by Cardiff Blues and the Welsh Rugby Union.
Sam suffered more injuries than the average player no doubt because he played in what is probably the most abrasive position in the game as a flanker. We all know the players today are bigger, faster and stronger compared to previous eras.
They’re all complete athletes. If you look at someone like George North, he could probably play anywhere on the field he’s such an all-round talent.
But the impact of having bigger players is that the collisions and physicality of rugby has gone through the roof. The result of that is clear and rugby must continue to take steps to react sooner rather than later. There is a lot of good work being done, but you can always do more.
World Rugby and the game’s authorities must accept top international sides managing their players at certain points in the season.
I read with interest a statistic I saw on Twitter the other day which said Jerome Kaino – who is moving to Toulouse – has played 125 games for Auckland Blues over 12 years.
It showed Kaino hasn’t played much for the Blues; he has been managed to be at his absolute best for New Zealand. In many ways, Sam has replicated that. He hasn’t played much rugby for Cardiff Blues and has turned out more for Wales and the British & Irish Lions than his region.
That’s not a criticism, it’s just the way the game is now and I can see more and more players following a similar pattern in the years to come.
Some guys might not be too keen on that idea. I’m sure if you suggested to the likes of Alun Wyn Jones he should take a breather, he’d bristle at the suggestion. There are other players, too, who benefit from playing week-in, week-out as a way of maintaining their form and fitness.
As I touched on earlier, each player will feel differently about when they might need a rest and for how long. What is clear to me though is that if we want to continue to see our top international stars playing in Six Nations and World Cups, it has to come at a cost.
For me, if the best players in the world miss the odd summer tour or sit out a block of domestic games to keep them in the best possible condition, then it’s worth it although that might prove an unpopular view with some people and I can understand that.
For example, domestic clubs want their marquee names out on the field to sell tickets and merchandise.
That’s their prerogative, but with player welfare the most important thing in the game today – in my view at least – all parties have to work together to look after those who take to the field.
Without the players, there is no product. That’s why I was amazed when some people criticised Wales’ summer tour where Warren Gatland rested his big guns.
People said it devalued international rugby. What rubbish. If anything, Warren was preserving the importance of the game by ensuring his best players stay fit and healthy both in body and mind.
In my opinion that’s nothing short of vital. Without it, my fear is more and more players will have to leave the game early just like Sam and that is something we must try to avoid at all costs.