Time ABs earnt cash

Our All Blacks should not be molly-coddled.
Letting our top rugby players decide for themselves just when they turn out for their provinces in the NPC is going too far.
To me the rigours of a busy international season isn't a good enough excuse for them to put their feet up for weeks on end.
Maybe a couple of weeks should be allowed but that's enough.
After all, they are not getting paid peanuts to what they do.
Compared to us "normal" people they are on huge salaries, and it's made to look even higher when you consider that very few of them are ever on the paddock for the full 80 minutes of a game, are they?
Indeed, you could argue the case that the substitution rule which allows for players to come off the reserve bench at any stage of a game should in fact led to a reduction in salaries on the basis that players are no longer doing a full day's work!
Obviously though the players themselves don't see it that way.
Their bosses are now in the process of actually negotiating more money for the ABs and the word around the traps is that they are going to be successful too.
Which won't be bad for them will it? Do less work and get more money??wouldn't we all love that?
The performance of the All Blacks this season shows how important it is to keep even our elite players on the go.
Remember what happened when they had a three week break after thumping the Lions 3-0.
They took on the Springboks at Cape Town and, in horse racing parlance, clearly gave the impression of being in the need of the run. They came home with their tails between their legs.
For my money the AB's will be better prepared for their Grand Slam tour which begins with a match against Six Nations champions Wales in Cardiff on November 5 if their top players have a relatively hefty diet of NPC games behind them.
In any case they will have at least a couple of weeks off after the NPC draws to a close, which should be time enough for them to recharge the batteries, shouldn't it?
And for those of you who still believe the ABs are hard done by.
Just take a look across the ditch and evaluate the workload taken on by the top NRL players.in a sport where the huge emphasis on tackling makes it even more testing from a physical viewpoint than rugby.
Not only do they go on for what seems like forever in their club competition but they also have State Of Origin and the odd international or two.
Yet you don't hear of them asking to have their workload reduced, do you!
AB's take note!