The decision to play and ultimately risk Handré Pollard this week is not in the Springboks’ World Cup interests, writes JON CARDINELLI.

Does the Vodacom Super Rugby tournament matter in a World Cup year? Are the needs of a franchise more important than the needs of a national team?

If you answered yes to these questions, then the chances are good that you’re a coach or administrator at one of South Africa’s franchises. And at this point in the season, with playoff places at stake, you’re probably not worried about how everything is going to play out at the World Cup later this year.

The real question is why these people should have any say at all. Why should the coaches and administrators of the respective franchises determine how top players are managed, and why should the national team be at the mercy of provincial decisions?

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The New Zealanders have got it right by placing the All Blacks at the top of their rugby pyramid. Everything that is done at the Kiwi franchises – from skill development to player contracting and management – is done with the All Blacks in mind. As many in that system have opined, it’s why the All Blacks have enjoyed such sustained success over the past 10 or so years.

With the World Cup on the horizon, New Zealand Rugby has instructed the franchises to rest their All Blacks over the course of the Super Rugby season. Some, like the Crusaders, have coped without their All Blacks. Others have lost matches because of these protocols.

The bottom line is that all of the people involved realise that they are working towards a greater goal: the All Blacks winning another World Cup.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, arguably the most important Bok player in the setup has flown back to Australasia to answer his franchise’s SOS.

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Pollard was supposed to be off – as per a pre-tournament agreement between SA Rugby and the franchises. Never mind the fact that he is coming back from a calf injury, and may be susceptible to further damage. A protocol was put in place to increase the likelihood of the Boks travelling to the World Cup with a squad that is physically and mentally fresh.

Pollard has played a lot of rugby over the past two years. In 2018, after playing 1,157 out of a possible 1,280 minutes for the Vodacom Bulls, he represented the Boks and then the Barbarians for 997 out of possible 1,200 minutes.

This year, he’s been asked to lead the Bulls in the injury-enforced absence of Lood de Jager. While he’s been rested for three games, he’s started in 11 and played 880 out of possible 1,120 minutes.

PLAYED INTO THE GROUND

How key Boks have been used since 2018

	SR MINS 2019*	SR MINS 2018**	INT MINS 2018***
MARX	937	1,075	661
KOLISI	772	1,043	1,027
DU TOIT	772	1,023	1,091
VERMEULEN	885	0	480
POLLARD	880	1,157	997
JANTJIES	990	1,520	233
DE ALLENDE	947	1,228	616

*Out of a possible 1120 minutes (14 games)
**Out of a possible 1280 minutes (16 games) for Bulls and Stormers, and out of a possible 1520 minutes (19 games) for Lions
***Out of a possible 1200 minutes (14 Tests and Barbarians match)
Note: Vermeulen played for Toulon (France) and Kubota Spears (Japan) last year

As things stand, all four South African franchises are in the hunt for a playoff spot. With this in mind, each coach may look to field his best available combination in the remaining conference-stage games.

Pote Human has opted to bring Pollard back into the starting lineup for the game against the Highlanders, because the Bulls need to win in Dunedin to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The needs of the Bulls, however, should be secondary to the needs of the Boks – even more so in a World Cup year. This goes for every franchise out there, regardless of how close or far they are to playoff qualification.

Before objections are raised, one has to consider the following questions. Why should key Bok players suffer because their teams haven’t performed consistently over the course of the season? Why didn’t the respective coaches rest these players in the first half of the competition – as many of the Kiwi mentors did?

Coaches like to use injuries as an excuse for a number of issues. Some blame injuries for their team’s dip in performance. Others ignore requests from the national team due to the fact that they have one or two injuries in a certain position.

Have the South African coaches abused the fact that there are no strict rules in place? Whereas the players are centrally contracted in New Zealand and the All Blacks are all-important, the local players are at the mercy of their franchises during the Super Rugby season. And every year, the Boks are compromised as a result.

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Malcolm Marx is a front-ranker, and a dynamic one at that. He played 1,075 out of a possible 1,520 minutes for the Lions in 2018, and has already played 937 out of a possible 1,120 minutes for his franchise this year.

The Lions may feel that they need Marx’s leadership and match-winning abilities, especially since they lost so many senior players to overseas clubs at the end of 2018. The Boks, of course, need their star No 2 fit and firing later this year.

Should a front-ranker be exposed to that kind of game time at his franchise? A look at the table above confirms that the hooker has been on the park for longer than most of his Boks teammates, even though they are loose forwards and backs.

At the end of last season, it was clear that Pollard, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Bok skipper Siya Kolisi were in dire need of  extended breaks. As it’s happened, the two loose forwards have been used extensively at the Stormers – with injuries to other players scuppering plans to follow rest protocols to the letter.

Du Toit and Kolisi are enjoying a break at present, and may not be back before the end of the Stormers’ campaign. That is due to injuries, though, rather than any careful planning.

One could say that the Bulls and Stormers are unlikely to progress far in the knockouts, if they qualify for the playoffs at all. The Lions and Sharks haven’t set the competition alight, and look set to travel in the quarter-finals.

One could say that it’s time to look beyond Super Rugby and protect the best players ahead of the World Cup.

On the other hand, it shouldn’t even be up for debate. It should just be a fact: players are managed with the national side in mind.

Like New Zealand, South Africa should have a central contracting system that puts the needs of the Boks ahead of those of the franchises. And as we’ve seen with the New Zealand teams, it is possible for the franchises as well as the national side to win games consistently and claim silverware.

It’s high time the franchises and the national side started pulling in the same direction.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix