Depth of Super 14 squads will be paramount

Depth is one of those words that can be used to hide a multitude of failings or explain a team's dominance.

The Crusaders, for example, are apparently the most successful franchise in Sanzar history because they've developed depth and recruited wisely in areas where they are not so strong.

The Highlanders, on the other hand, are acknowledged as a squad with a good starting XV that is not particularly 'deep'.

The simplest way of explaining this phenomenon is this: if your openside flanker falls down in a heap tomorrow, can you replace him with a player acknowledged as being more than capable of playing at Rebel Sport Super 14 level, or are you replacing him with a stop-gap, a fill-in?

As Sanzar makes the leap this year from 12 to 14, 'depth' and its many meanings will be examined.

Kevin Putt, the former Sharks coach, now in charge of Counties-Manukau, says depth can mean different things at different times of the season.

For example, as the Chiefs embark on a tour to South Africa to kick off their campaign, Putt said it was absolutely vital they had sufficent depth in the front row.

"I've had conversations recently with friends back in South Africa who say that the humidity is absolutely immense, particularly around the Durban area. The likes of the Chiefs are going to have to worry about their big boys up front."

The most obvious test of depth will be attrition. Two more games might not sound a lot for well-remunerated rugby players but the fact the season is starting as the Christmas cutlery is being put away means you will no doubt be reading about more abrasion-type injuries on the rock-hard grounds.

Throw in the usual supply of tweaked gastrocnemius and popped pectorales and squad depth is going to be tested to the nth degree.

Putt said his experience told him that attrition would hit hardest in the loose forwards and front row.

"The loose forwards were the worst though. It's the battle station. The level they play is so physical every game. The game is revolving more and more around the tackle contest and they're at the forefront of that all the time.

"The other area, without a doubt, is the front row. We [the Sharks], in the four years I coached Super 12, had a terrible fall-off in hookers."

Then there is squad rotation. While rotation is often mockingly referred to as the soft option for a coach - as in "he wasn't dropped, he was rotated" - the more demanding schedule should see an increase in tactical rotation.

The final test of depth could come under the working title of 'protection'. It's less talked about because it's the one most likely to get the backs of the fans up. But put it this way, there is no way Graham Henry and his All Black cohorts want the likes of Richie McCaw playing potentially 15 games of top-level rugby before the first All Black test of the year.

Putt said terms like rotation and protection were only relevant if you had squads deep enough to indulge in it. He had it on very good authority that Springboks bosses have asked for their players to be given three to four weeks on, "then one to two weeks rest thereafter".

"I'm sure it won't be too much different here in New Zealand.

"Again, it's quite position-specific."

He said some teams use their centres to take a lot of ball up the middle so those squads will need adequate cover there. Others, like the Bulls, will kick the air out of the ball so will be able to play a virtually unchanged backline while regularly rotating their tight five.

So who does Putt rate as the deepest squads? "Looking back, I'm jealous at the depth the New Zealand squads are able to call on."

The Bulls are obviously very deep in the forwards but Putt said there were concerns in the Republic that the Bulls had picked up too many pre-season injuries.

Overall, the South African teams will struggle, he believed, because of the quota system.

"For some teams their depth will be tested by the quality of the players of colour. That's an issue Australia and New Zealand must be stoked they don't have to put up with."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY