Some thoughts on the dynamics of touring from one end of the world to the other midseason.
- The interesting conundrum the URC has offered since the league has involved sides from different ends of the Earth has been how to utilize the squad when touring. Obviously this doesn’t just impact upon Irish sides, far from it. The Welsh, Scottish, and Italian sides all have to venture down to the end of Africa too. And we shouldn’t forget the South Africans must make frequent trips up to Europe, and actually have to travel longer distances more frequently.
- This extended travel offers something no other rugby competition has had before, and it undoubtedly has a big impact on the competition. The nature of rugby means teams don’t tend to win every game in a league season, whether it’s in the URC (or it’s pro-predecessors), the English Premiership, or the Top 14. Really in any team sport it’s rare enough that sides will go unbeaten throughout a whole league. And for a long time in rugby teams have had to plan when they will rotate. But when it comes to going the length of a continent the rotation applies to the whole squad.
- For Leinster the South African trip may be a write off this season. Stormers will offer a tough test, with Lions last week likely being the better chance to get points. That’s the nature of having a South Africa tour right before a European Cup semi final. Really nobody who is starting against Northampton next week should be risked. And anybody who will likely play a role as a sub should have extremely limited game time if any. In an ideal world you’d have an entirely different squad travel, although we saw last year when Leinster played Bulls with what could be called a 4th string side, the results weren’t good.
- If Leinster come away from South Africa empty handed Glasgow could well find themselves in first place in the URC. Glasgow also have to take a trip down to the Southern Hemisphere so aren’t guaranteed to take maximum points from their remaining games by any means. But the pressure will be on Leinster to get 3 wns in their 3 remaining games, and likely a bonus point along the way. Although the immediate focus will be on the European Cup, having home advantage throughout the URC play-offs would be a good place to be at the end of a long season.
- Munster can put all their focus on the URC, and having had an extra week to prepare could take a full strength squad to face Bulls and took a BP win away. Now they face a Lions side that can still make the play-offs. Munster can afford to go full throttle again this weekend with their free week the following week. Two home games in their remaining three matches leaves them in a good position to get a home quarter final and possibly more.
- It seems Munster have timed their run well once again to peak towards the end of the season. Getting eliminated from Europe will likely stand to them in their quest to retain the URC given that they will have two weekends off between now and the end of the season.
- For Leinster the South African trip may be a write off this season. Stormers will offer a tough test, with Lions last week likely being the better chance to get points. That’s the nature of having a South Africa tour right before a European Cup semi final. Really nobody who is starting against Northampton next week should be risked. And anybody who will likely play a role as a sub should have extremely limited game time if any. In an ideal world you’d have an entirely different squad travel, although we saw last year when Leinster played Bulls with what could be called a 4th string side, the results weren’t good.
- This extended travel offers something no other rugby competition has had before, and it undoubtedly has a big impact on the competition. The nature of rugby means teams don’t tend to win every game in a league season, whether it’s in the URC (or it’s pro-predecessors), the English Premiership, or the Top 14. Really in any team sport it’s rare enough that sides will go unbeaten throughout a whole league. And for a long time in rugby teams have had to plan when they will rotate. But when it comes to going the length of a continent the rotation applies to the whole squad.
- The nature of the URC means a whole season can hinge on when teams have to make the cross-hemisphere trip. Whether it’s either side of a European game, in advance of a freeweek, or in the run up to a game against shield rivals, the mini-tours during the season add a massive dimension that we don’t see in other rugby competitions.
- In a weird way it’s a disadvantage to go far in both tournaments (the European Cup and URC) as it means more travelling. Perhaps we’ll start to see teams prioritize one competition over the other depending on scheduling and draws.
Post To Post Sport 