Well, we just talked about Vermuelen injuries and burnout, well he's one of many. The article below is about Jordie Barret but it could be about many players. The administrators need to do something, there are two many problems and player attrition and low crowd turnout needs to be addressed. Less is more (less games and less teams) IMO is the way to go.
Article:
Jordie Barrett will play his 10th Kiwi derby in semifinal - and it's too much; by
Paul Cully
OPINION: If you are looking for a player who illustrates the difficult balancing act between player workload, Super Rugby's structure, All Blacks performance levels and possibly even the ability to retain the best talent in New Zealand then look no further than Jordie Barrett.
Jordie Barrett will play his 10th Kiwi derby of the season when he trots out for the Hurricanes in their Super Rugby semifinal against the Crusaders on Saturday.
Possibly, he will play in midfield, where the human traffic is often the heaviest. He is 21 years old and had a serious shoulder injury last year.
It's too much, too young.
Listen to the players. Constantly, they say that the New Zealand derbies are not that far off test level in terms of intensity.
Yet Barrett will have played 10 on them - albeit with one off the bench - before the Rugby Championship even begins. And it's not just the games themselves - it's the associated training loads.
When you map out his season like this - and plenty of others are in a similar boat - it raises a host of questions.
One of them is particularly important, given how the All Blacks struggled to get consistency of performance last year.
With player workloads at their current levels, at what point in the season, if at all, are we assured that we are watching the All Blacks at their best?
They roll into the Rugby Championship two weeks after a Super Rugby final that normally involves at least one Kiwi franchise.
That makes it hard to find fluency and by the end of travel-heavy Rugby Championship they fly to Europe to be bashed up there.
What state will the Jordie Barretts be in by the time the Ireland and England tests arrive?
The younger Barrett has signed a one-year deal to take him through to the 2019 World Cup. No doubt New Zealand Rugby would have loved to tie him down for longer but he will have his reasons for a shorter deal.
If money is one of them then good on him. In the past players may have been a little reticent about asking for more.
In fact, Dan Carter tells a great anecdote in his autobiography about his famous deal with Jockey. Initially, the shy Carter didn't want to do it and he asked Steve Hansen for counsel. Hansen told him to ask for three times what they were offering and if they paid up he should do it.
Carter did and Jockey did and the rest is history. It's a valuable lesson in not undervaluing yourself.
Can we expect Jordie Barrett to be at his best for the All Blacks when his Super Rugby workload is so tough?
The situation today for players such as Barrett is complicated by the rising demands of Super Rugby under the conference system.
There's no question that the black jersey still holds its allure.
And, by and large, New Zealand has done a great job at keeping the talent it wants by presenting an attractive package to keep players here.
But if you were advising Barrett, or others, you wouldn't mind waiting to see what sort of provincial competition they will be taking part in after the 2019 World Cup.
The danger for New Zealand rugby is clear: if players get the sense their longevity in the game - and capacity to earn - is being protected no better in New Zealand than in Europe then taking the greater money up north becomes easier to justify.
It's a hugely complex area, and NZ Rugby must find the balance between securing revenue and making sure it can 'sell' player welfare to its stars as well.
But if the Jordie Barretts are playing up to 10 arduous non-test fixtures each year are we sure that balance is right?
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