Easter- Tri-nations teams will be tired for world cup.

Might be some truth in this, it does seem strange to hold the full tri-nations tournament just before the world cup (finishes 2 weeks before).

Top players will be protected but it is still possible to pick up injuries and 2 weeks recovery time isnt much.

I suppose it could be argued that the Tri-nations teams will benefit from the game time against quality opposition and so bringing form into the world cup.

Disagree entirely. I think that it is an advantage they have. Ireland have gone and booked in a double headed against France and also England in order to get high intensity warm up matches.

Getting the balance between being underdone and burnt out is tricky. Don't forget that the group stage of the WC will give plenty of scope for resting players (especially for the 3Ns sides who are the top sides in their respective groups).

I'd rather have that high-intensity gametime under the belt than not. Otherwise the NH sides would be taking it easy all summer.

They have a 2 week break and also they will be exposed to a higher standard of rugby at just the right time. All the northern hemisphere teams will be just coming into the season and most of them dont normally settle down into form until December.

I dont agree either. 2 weeks rest before the cup then another 2 weeks of relatively easy games is heaps.

Our problem has always been the pool games are always the easiest tests we EVER play- the last easiest being the 100 point margins in the last world cups so for NZ the tournament doesnt start until the knockouts- in that way the format doesnt suit us at all. So the 3N is our real preparation for the knockouts- in that way its not close enough.

I had a theory that in 2007 the Southern Hemisphere teams peaked too early. South Africa left out a few players in the 2007 Tri-Nations (and their results showed that), while New Zealand and Australia smashed the pool stages, but then lost to "inferior" opposition in France and England.

Maybe NZ and Australia were undercooked (it is certainly true in New Zealand's case that Scotland rested players against the ABs to keep the first choice fresh to ensure they beat Italy and qualified), but I guess this year will give us more of an idea as to which theory is correct, as the All Blacks and the Wallabies have tough fixtures against France and Ireland respectively. If they smash the groups again and go out in the quarter-finals, I'd say they've peaked too early. If they don't smash the groups then you could say that the Tri-Nations has worn them out. But if they go all the way to the final, then you can say that they had the perfect preperation!

As an England fan, I wouldn't be happy with four full-blooded Test matches before the World Cup. World Cup warm-ups are the only test matches, in my opinion, that you can say "don't count". The two Wales matches I would be experimenting (not wildly, but with players who would be in my final 30) and then only the last match (against Ireland) I would look to put out my very strongest matchday 22.

Which ever way you want to look at this, the SH teams have won 5 of the 6 tournaments. I can't see beyond another SH win tbh; despite the Tri-Nations.

England have shown promise but lack a real presence at the breakdown (the losses to SA last autumn and Ireland in the 6N were good examples).

Under Lievremont, France have become inconsistent. Mainly because of the chopping and changing to the first XV.

Ireland have never convinced me that they can perform at a high enough level consistently over (potentially) 7 consecutive weekends.

Wales - see Ireland. Gatland and his coaching team worked wonders with the Welsh players to deliver a Slam in 2008. Wales need to get that mentality back to make their mark.

Scotland have never failed to make the q/fs, but they don't have a cutting edge behind a competitive pack to threaten this time. It's the Dan Parks conundrum I'm afraid.

Argentina are interesting. The majority of their squad are used to HC rugby, and their pre-tournament preparation will be key. Dark horses for another s/f berth.

Samoa will also be interesting. So many of their players are experiencing quality rugby with their clubs that they could also make the q/fs again.

Don't agree with how you can say the warm up games don't count. Sure you may be trying new players out but that should happen regularly.

We have warm up matches before the regular trinations series but we still 'count' wins against lower ranked opposition like Wales, Italy, Fiji and Ireland

Just read nick easters comments. "Maybe theyll play weakened teams and rest their players." Geez. Shows how little some nh-ers know about sh rugby. the 3n is tougher than the world cup for the top 3 because there are no easies. between us we'll probably play 8 easies in the wc.
if anything lack of serious competition will find the nh teams undercooked, will get a false sense of security in the easies then get done knockout. Then all sit around complaining about the timing of the WC so close to the 3N.
Said this on 606v1 months ago. Still stand by it. Nothing beats hard serious tests as a warmup

Without doubt he has a point. The world cup is set up for northern teams to perform. It's not surprising the IRB executative is dominated by six nations teams and the major revenue stream comes from Europe.

It's great timing. The club season finishes in late April/early May. The players get a quick break and get a similar buildup that they would get for club preperation. They have time to recover from injuries work of strategy, build a team and condition themselves. They can fine tune themselves with games leading up to the competition. The competiition is dominated by European refs, which has to help. They have the optimal preperation for any major sport. I'm sure the English and French football teams would love to have the same opportunity.

i dont see it weakening the sh sides at all, no more than playing summer warm up matches will weaken nh sides.

i think easter is clutching at straws, or it could just be some made up jurno cr4p.

Its a clear lack of knowledge about rugby in these parts. Whereas our teams will be hardened to top 3 standard the nh will be in peak gym form. Clean shorts and ready to go! geez.

All 3N sides will be match hardened and, (barring injuries) will be in a much better position than the NH sides who would have played a few "warm-up" matches. The intensity just isn't there in warm-up games. I think this will be a problem for Ireland in particular as their first match is against the Wallabies who will have just finished tough games against the AB's and Springboks. Couldn't think of a better preparation for the Wallabies World Cup campaign than to play those 2 sides (esp NZ) a few times home and away - provided there are no catastrophic injuries.

I agree with Easter actually and the team that could suffer the most is the AB's who will be under most pressure to retain their 3N title and play high quality rugby in every single game.

This may help the SH teams at the start of the WC as they will be battle hardened but they might the price in the latter stages if they peak too early.

I doubt very much they will put out weakened sides.

Alot will depend on luck, no doubt both Aus & SA will be out to put down markers for the WC and win away in New Zealand.

If any of them are unlucky they could end up with 6 players out with niggly 4 - 6 week injuries.

But what ever the case they will be battle hardened and in my view have the better preparation, you can only plan for what you know.

The best training you can have is competitive games. The 3N have the advantage and always will have an advantage when a RWC is timed at this part of the year.

I would even argue the risk of injury is greater when players are performing at 90% focus and aren't at full intensity.

NH teams tend to bleat on about being "tired" at the end of the season. Don't think it is an issue for the SH teams. They are used to playing hard games all the time in 3N. Arguably, the 3N is harder than the RWC anyway especially with the travel. Didn't see much evidence of tiredness on the November tours last year.

Injuries will be the only worry. I expect the ABs will play their best side for the two home games first up and then experiment with the away games. They don´t want to give away psychological edge at home with a RWC in NZ and they have a tough group match with France followed by a fairly weak quarter final match.

From a kiwi perspective, I am expecting a few fringe players to run out when NZ travel. Slade/Cruden will definitely ge a chance in OZ and SA. There will definitely be tinkering in those games however no such luck for the opposition coming to NZ, you'd never give up our home record before a home WC!

I think the truth is Jake White lost his home game to the AB`s in 2007 [at full strength].
Decided he was`nt in the position to win 3Ns so through in weakened sides
in the hope of winning a RWC.
His gamble paid off,but it was as disgraceful an act as NZ holding All Blacks back from playing in S14.
Degrading both competions in the name of the cursed RWC,something that shoud never happen,ALL test matches should be contested by the best teams.

Rob B wrote:NH teams tend to bleat on about being "tired" at the end of the season. Don't think it is an issue for the SH teams. They are used to playing hard games all the time in 3N. Arguably, the 3N is harder than the RWC anyway especially with the travel. Didn't see much evidence of tiredness on the November tours last year.

Disagree. I think the ABs were knackered after traveling from HK when they played England which is why they played so poorly. Luckily they recovered somewhat after that.

Reading what Easter has said it seem more of a statement in hope than a statement of fact - fatigue will play a part for certain but not for the tri nations teams, as they will be playing at full intensity for 4 games against the best opposition available in world rugby, at test level, meaning that they will be more prepared for test match intensity than the other nations participating despite their respective warm up matches - these are after all as they are described 'warm up' - the 3N's is a competition to win the crown of the best side in the SH, and the best way to prepare for a major competition is to come in off the back of having played in a major competition. Wales et al won't know what has hit them after 20 minutes against the big boy's of world rugby no matter how much preperation has gone in prior to the tournament. The small saving grace as Phil Vickery has pointed out in an article I read is that NH sides are more familiar with knock out competition such as the HC, and a reason why I believe, SA have had more success in recent times due to the more attritional game they play - that's not to say that the boys out wide can't play a bit either, but you know what to expect and it's suited to the 'knock out' style of competition. There will be a few upsets in this tournament, and I believe that Wales will be on the recieving end of one of them unfortunately.

I don't agree with Easter - the 3N's sides will be battle hardened and will benifit form the ammount of test rugby they'll have played pre RWC - not hindered by it.

Dont really agree nh sides are better at knockout rugby. Our juniors womens and sxv dominate then. Abs have a poor record wcup time but so do the nh. One team has won it once. Is that due to the heinken cup?
Dont think so. It came from seemingly eons of prep after a 70+ win by oz over england in the last milenium.
The 3n will result in hardened test match players. The rest the nh have had will give them another one.
Look at last years ai's. played after a tough 3n.
2 or 3 wins was it to the nh?
if world cup had been played straight after the 6N would the teams have been... Tired?

Not all three teams from the SH may be lucky enough to go into the RWC with a full first choice squad.

It is true that the Tri Nations will be ideal preparation for the RWC, but only if the three countries don't carry injuries.

Fatigue could well play a role. These guys just finished a very long super 15 competition, and now straight into the tri Nations.

He must be forgetting that this is a northern excuse and not a southern one.

Don't we hear every AI season that the SH teams are in form, where there northern counterparts are rusty?

And similarly in the Spring tours to the SH, that the NH sides are too tired and the SH sides are well rested?

Easter shouldn't be worrying about the SANZAR teams, the record of winning all but one RWC seems to me to indicate they have a good knowledge of how to go about winning the tournament.

As for the ludicrous notion that NH sides are better at knock-out rugby. If you mean getting knocked out... as Wales invariably do at pool stage, as Ireland did last time around, as Scotland do time and time again then I guess you could be telling some truth.

Agree it's ludicrous. If NZ had England's supposedly superior RWC record they'd still get given no end of stick. Because bottom line they've both won one from six.

It's only one tournament that NZ has a less than impressive record. It just so happens it's the global showpiece. I remember the series win in SA was the holy grail-now that's gone the All Blacks have a new one. Not too much left once they master how to win this particular tournament.

England fan All Black Barb Predictions:

2010 : "NZ have only won one world cup! and none in the professional era! Pathetic! Chokers!"
2014 : "NZ have only won two world cups! and never won one away from home! and they've never defended the title! Pathetic! Chokers!"
2018 : "NZ have only won three world cups, and the majority of them were won at home! and they've only defended the title once! Pathetic!"
2022 : "Yawn. RWC, who cares. It's rigged in favour of New Zealand. Pathetic tournament. It's a shame it's ruined the Lions. I'm more interested in Glousterworthshire v Lincolnholmshireworth and I want to talk about the EOY transfers... "

TheGreyGhost wrote:England fan All Black Barb Predictions:

2010 : "NZ have only won one world cup! and none in the professional era! Pathetic! Chokers!"
2014 : "NZ have only won two world cups! and never won one away from home! and they've never defended the title! Pathetic! Chokers!"
2018 : "NZ have only won three world cups, and the majority of them were won at home! and they've only defended the title once! Pathetic!"
2022 : "Yawn. RWC, who cares. It's rigged in favour of New Zealand. Pathetic tournament. It's a shame it's ruined the Lions. I'm more interested in Glousterworthshire v Lincolnholmshireworth and I want to talk about the EOY transfers... "

Very funny...!

TheGreyGhost wrote:England fan All Black Barb Predictions:

2010 : "NZ have only won one world cup! and none in the professional era! Pathetic! Chokers!"
2014 : "NZ have only won two world cups! and never won one away from home! and they've never defended the title! Pathetic! Chokers!"
2018 : "NZ have only won three world cups, and the majority of them were won at home! and they've only defended the title once! Pathetic!"
2022 : "Yawn. RWC, who cares. It's rigged in favour of New Zealand. Pathetic tournament. It's a shame it's ruined the Lions. I'm more interested in Glousterworthshire v Lincolnholmshireworth and I want to talk about the EOY transfers... "

Pure Gold... I mean Black, GG.

TheGreyGhost wrote:England fan All Black Barb Predictions:

2010 : "NZ have only won one world cup! and none in the professional era! Pathetic! Chokers!"
2014 : "NZ have only won two world cups! and never won one away from home! and they've never defended the title! Pathetic! Chokers!"
2018 : "NZ have only won three world cups, and the majority of them were won at home! and they've only defended the title once! Pathetic!"
2022 : "Yawn. RWC, who cares. It's rigged in favour of New Zealand. Pathetic tournament. It's a shame it's ruined the Lions. I'm more interested in Glousterworthshire v Lincolnholmshireworth and I want to talk about the EOY transfers... "

The administrators should bookmark this page Greyghost, perhaps in years to come we can laugh at these predictions.

Well, ok, but when they turn out to be eerie correct, I don't want a bunch of followers turning up outside by house and trying to sell me to an aquarium in Austria like that poor octopus.

Is this in relation to something NICK Easter has said?

Found it

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/14018820.stm

no i think he is either way off the mark or desperately hopeful

NZ cleaned up the 3N following the Lions.

South Africa cleaned up the 3N following the Lions.

Test matches against quality opposition seems to strengthen rather than tire a team.

As an earlier poster said, England v Wales warm-ups will see a lot of obsessive posting which will border on claiming an impended RWC triumph based on the outcome. This is likely to be a little misguided and we'll hear the usual whinging about the strenuous life of an NH rugby professional and the timing of the RWC finals.

when we're making statements regarding NH being better at knockout rugby competitions, who's statement are we refrencing gents?

And as to this notion that English players recover more quickly from injury, and play through more pain...I'm not sure where your evidence is for the recovery times (presumably you must have done a lot of research into that for comparative injuries and had amazing access to the medical records of the players involved) and surely the second was just entirely subjective chest beating? or do you really believe it?

GG, who is mooting this notion that English players recover more quickly from injury and play through more pain?

What no-one seems to be mentioning about this article is that Nick Easter is referencing a Tri-Nations tournament after the longest Super Rugby season in the history of the competition, which may cause fatigue. References to 2007 could therefore fall down slightly.

Not sure what he's hoping to achieve really. Does he think SANZAR will cancel the tournament after reading his comments? or does he think the players will suddenly start thinking they're tired and lose the RWC? Why would he be concerned? Is it just wishful thinking? Doesn't he have better things to worry about?

Ghost, do you think this came as a brain wave while he was having a bath and he called an immediate press conference to pass on his eureka moment?

GG, hard to believe but not everyone's got a secret agenda.

robbo277 wrote:GG, hard to believe but not everyone's got a secret agenda.

I just don't see any fringe AB's worrying about whether England will be rested or burned out. It seems an odd thing for him to be commenting on at all.

Well, considering he captained England in the last match I wouldn't call him a fringe England player.

Obviously as a senior player he was in a press conference and someone asked him a question, which he fielded and obviously his answer got reported on.

okay thats a few too many posts on this one by GG. Take your chill pills move on.

TheGreyGhost wrote:NZ cleaned up the 3N following the Lions.

South Africa cleaned up the 3N following the Lions.

Test matches against quality opposition seems to strengthen rather than tire a team.

And to be complete, Australia cleaned up 3N following the Lions' last tour.

Maybe the Lions should tour more often....

Rob B wrote:

TheGreyGhost wrote:NZ cleaned up the 3N following the Lions.

South Africa cleaned up the 3N following the Lions.

Test matches against quality opposition seems to strengthen rather than tire a team.

And to be complete, Australia cleaned up 3N following the Lions' last tour.

Maybe the Lions should tour more often....

I dunno, it'd get a bit boring every year having the series won by whoever's turn it was to warm up by beating the Lions