No rest for weary Tier Two nations
A few words on Rugby World Cup scheduling for the Irish Times. As well as a chat with Wallabies rugby analyst Cathal Garvey, formerly of St. Munchins, UL Bohembians and Munster Rugby.
Published in the print edition of Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015.
Three-day breaks between games are far from ideal in rugby union. No time to rest, no time to heal. For that matter, no time for a concussed player to pass the six-day graduated return-to-play protocols.
Today three teams will play their second match of the World Cup, each facing a side on their first tournament run-out. Fully rested players against teams already bearing the aches and scars of rugby battle. Is this fair, and is World Rugby missing a chance to help level the playing field?
On Saturday evening, as the focus moved from Japan’s historic win against South Africa to the fact they would next face Scotland on just three days’ rest, World Rugby’s CEOBrett Gosper tweeted that Japan have the highest number of rest days of any team in the tournament. True, but maybe not the whole truth…
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Fiji, having played England on Friday, take on Australia in Cardiff today and there will be an Irish face in Michael Cheika’s coaching box hoping to take advantage. That face belongs to Wallabies rugby analyst Cathal Garvey.
Garvey is a Limerick man. He played for St Munchin’s, UL Bohemians and the Munster under age ranks, captaining future internationals Donnacha Ryan and Tomás O’Leary along the way. His playing career would end prematurely after a fractured neck but Garvey is happy enough with his lot.
After all, he knows people have had similar injuries and been far less lucky. “That’s when I think someone was trying to tell me something: take a step away from the field and look for something else to do,” he says.
Like so many of that Irish generation, he found himself in Australia…
