Wales v South Africa:PREMIER RUGBY'S refusal to release Butch James for this afternoon's friendly in Cardiff, a game arranged on a weekend designated by the International Rugby Board as a rest before summer tours, highlights the increasing demands placed on players.
James, who was due to play in the centre for South Africa in his first international for nearly two years, was hardly the player to make an example of given his season did not start until February as he recovered from a knee operation.
But unions such as Wales and South Africa are paying scant regard to the IRB’s stated intent to make player welfare one of its prime concerns, and Premier Rugby yesterday made a formal complaint about the South African Rugby Union (Saru).
Today’s fixture has been arranged for purely financial ends, never mind the waffle about Wales needing to face the best on a regular basis. While South Africa have the advantage in terms of caps, it is far from the side the Springboks will field at the start of the Tri-Nations.
The Welsh Rugby Union is looking to raise over €1 million to pay its four regions for the deal negotiated this year governing player release; Saru will receive some €800,000 for agreeing, reluctantly, to fulfil a fixture that is ostensibly the 10th anniversary of the first fixture played at the Millennium Stadium, between Wales and South Africa, even though it was held in 1999.
The only way players will earn a rest is if they get injured.
A year ago, the Wales hooker Matthew Rees was in South Africa with the Lions but a calf injury at the end of November got him a couple of months off.
“There should be a limit to the number of games players are involved in during a season,” he said. “The question is, who controls that: the Welsh Rugby Union, the regions or the players’ association?
“Something should be done to safeguard careers. You can be looking at up to 43 games in a calendar year. It does not sound much compared to the appearances players used to make years ago, but training, in terms of intensity and frequency, is far different today.
“There are 16 months to the World Cup and it will be interesting to see how players are managed in that time.”
Wales leave next week for a two-Test tour to New Zealand. A number of players who were on the Lions tour have pulled out with injuries: Shane Williams, Martyn Williams, Gethin Jenkins, Andy Powell, and James Hook, who has delayed a shoulder operation so he can face South Africa.
WALES: L Byrne; L Halfpenny, J Hook, J Roberts, T Prydie; S Jones, M Phillips; P James, M Rees, A Jones, B Davies, D Jones, J Thomas, S Warburton, R Jones (capt). Replacements: H Bennett, J Yapp, AW Jones, A Powell, R Rees, D Biggar, A Bishop.
SOUTH AFRICA: F Steyn; G Aplon, J Fourie, J de Jongh, O Ndungane; R Pienaar, R Januarie; CJ van der Linde, J Smit (capt), B J Botha, D Rossouw, V Matfield, F Louw, D Potgieter, J van Niekerk. Replacements: C Ralepelle, J du Plessis, A Hargreaves, R Kankowski, M Bosman, Z Kirchner, B Basson.
