Definitely insightful:
“In Australian rugby, that risk level is always highest when players come out of Super Rugby and into the Wallabies, and because their fitness is considered woefully inadequate for Test rugby they get flogged for a few weeks. Without sufficient rest, multiple players often pick up injuries in this window.
And it’s been happening for a decade. Robbie Deans identified it as one of the biggest problems of Australia’s federated system, over a decade ago.”
I think part of the issue is that a lot of the Wallabies do a very limited preseason. They miss the large chunk of the Summer where the Super Rugby players do get flogged.
A lot of it comes down to the extras the various players are willing to do. Michael Hooper wouldn't have done a preseason in a decade but he's always about the fittest guy on the field. It's well known how much additional training he does to keep himself in that sort of shape.
There's still a significant gap in rugby in most places (South Africa would be a bit of an exception) where players aren't as fit, strong and lean as they potentially could be. It's still considered that skill is the most important aspect and while that's true, if there's two teams with equal skill, the side that is that bit stronger, faster and fitter is going to win most of the time.
You look at a sport like the NFL which obviously pulls from a much larger talent pool and everyone (outside of positions where you need additional bulk) is incredibly sculpted. It is so competitive and every additional bit of performance that can be squeezed out of someone is important.
