Piet Heymans blames lengthy Super Rugby season for large scale injuries to Springboks – Rugby
The Chief Executive Officer of South African Rugby Players Association, Piet Heymans, has blamed the long season of Super Rugby as the culprit behind large scale injuries to their players. South African Rugby Union (SARU) announced yesterday that as many
as 21 players will not participate in the opening two games of the forthcoming Tri-Nations Cup 2011, due to various injuries. Piet Heymans also asked South Africa New Zealand and Australia Rugby (SANZAR) to revise some rules regarding the length of Super Rugby
Championship.
2011 Super Rugby Championship was kicked off in the mid of February and the final contest is scheduled to be played on July 9th. The almost six-month long event has affected the performance of many payers who are either over-worked or injured due to the
matches.
Talking to reporters, Piet Heymans said that SANZAR is the governing body of Super Rugby and should revise their policies in order to make the championship productive. He suggested that the number of players in one squad should be increased to provide some
relief to players. He said that if the teams are allowed to extend their crew to 40 members it will help them cope with injury issues. A Super Rugby side is allowed to include only 30 players in their squad.
Supporting his suggestion, Piet Heymans said that, "It is clear that Super Rugby teams would not be able to compete at a high level going forward if they do not increase their squad sizes and, especially in a South African context, the local derbies have
taken a huge toll out of the players and this is something that needs to be addressed going forward."
He further said that, "Medical evidence and opinion indicate that the workload placed on the players is of such a nature that top players cannot continue playing at a top level after 12 or 13 Super Rugby matches without breaking down, and evidence of this
has now been confirmed," said Heymans.
South African Rugby Union (SARU) has recently been suspected of declaring their top players injured so that they can be rested for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Australian Rugby Union has asked SANZAR on July 8 to probe the matter and find out the reasons
behind so many injuries.
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