Richard Loe: Fans want teams to bring it on, not rotation carry-on

Richie McCaw played on Friday but will be missing in round one. Photo / Sarah Ivey

I can't, for the life of me, understand the concept of resting the All Blacks for the opening rounds of Super Rugby.

The Boks don't do it, the Australians don't do it and I find it odd that we do - and the way we do it is strange, too.

I mean, Richie McCaw played on Friday night in the final pre-season hit-out against the Hurricanes. Okay, it's a pre-season game but surely, what difference does one week make to a professional rugby player? Yet there is a chance he'll be missing for the Crusaders' first Super Rugby match against the Highlanders. How's that again?

Okay, New Zealand are the world champions and the supporters of this stuff can always point to that and claim justification. But that's too easy. You'd also have to take the point that McCaw is 33 and they are obviously looking to cotton wool him a bit - or more than a bit - to make sure he makes the next World Cup. Fair enough. So play him on Friday night?

Keven Mealamu is doing the same for the Blues, apparently. He had little rugby last year and plays in a position where the hookers are often subbed off in the second half. McCaw at least plays most or all of 80 minutes. Yet Mealamu will be missing from their first round match but will likely play the second - against the Crusaders. Again, you wonder what difference one week makes ...

Hooker shapes as the most interesting position for me in the early rounds. Mealamu and Corey Flynn haven't really been sighted yet, the Chiefs are sorting out which one of Rhys Marshall, Mahonri Schwalger or Hika Elliot will start - and it could be that the Hurricanes' Dane Coles could be the senior hooker early on.

I'd back the young bloke Marshall who looked like he might have the goods for a spell last season - and the national side sorely needs hookers to take over from the retired Andrew Hore and Mealamu who now, apparently, has to be protected. Give Marshall some decent game time.

There are also a lot of injuries around this season - and that will colour things for a few sides. Ask the Hurricanes who have now lost flanker Brad Shields, wing Matt Proctor, prop Reggie Goodes and loose forward Victor Vito out for six to eight weeks before the competition has even begun.

That means their loose forward stocks are down to Jack Lam, Faifili Levave and Ardie Savea on the flanks, with Blade Thomson at No8. Could be a hard start for the Canes against the Sharks and Stormers in South Africa in their first two games.

In the midst of all this, we also hear players bleating about playing too many local derbies against tough opposition.

Cory Jane was quoted as saying: "I hate playing New Zealand teams twice - everyone knows each other, and everyone's out there to beat each other and get those bragging rights. That's hard."

Professional rugby hard, eh? Don't you like playing hard rugby against each other? I thought that's what it is all about.

I know the players are advocating less is more and feel that the Kiwi teams are disadvantaged by having to play each other twice (as opposed to playing easier overseas teams) in high-commitment matches.

There's two ways of looking at that: 1) player welfare and the understandable wish for players like 31-year-old Cory Jane (who hasn't played much lately) to lengthen his playing career as much as possible or 2) the fans want tough rugby played by top sides because it is interesting.

NZRU boss Steve Tew said fans last year had tended to attend the derbies, deserting other games instead. Says a lot.

Fans like stable, committed teams with their best players there, week in, week out. If there are injuries or the odd ones stood down to rest up for a test match, fair enough. But it's no wonder unions are having problems selling season tickets. Fans don't want rest, rotation and all that carry-on. They want All Blacks and other top players going hard at it.