A last some light is being shed on the resting of players or what is being done to keep players from burnout…

Will this relatively new strategy work ? Time will tell…

By Brendon Nel

Vodacom Bulls captain Victor Matfield has revealed how his side has managed player burnout this season while still calling on their stars to play every game.

Matfield, who has not missed one of the nine rounds of the Vodacom Super 14 this year, has been given time off in the weeks leading up to games to ensure he is battle fresh when he leads his team onto the field.

The same goes for the other core Springboks – Pierre Spies, Danie Rossouw, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Morné Steyn, Wynand Olivier and Fourie du Preez during the overseas leg of this year’s competition. Du Preez was rested this week due to a niggling shoulder injury, but with the way the Bulls are controlling their playing resources, otherwise would probably have started the game.

“It’s always a difficult thing to tell a player to rest,” Matfield said on the issue of burnout, “As a player you want to be involved in all the big games and it is sometimes more difficult to sit on the sideline. What we have been doing is to handle it a bit differently and I basically haven’t trained much in the last two weeks, resting in the week to ensure I can play on Saturday.

“The same goes for other guys like Wynand Olivier and Fourie, they have played all the games but have rested in the week. The coaching staff has been clever enough to say to guys, get away for two days to get your head clean. This week a guy like Fourie felt his shoulder wasn’t 100 percent and we have the confidence in the next guy to take his place.”

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke concurred, saying he was constantly monitoring the players to see if there were any signs that a rest was needed.

“We have always watched for a niggling injury or a big drop in performance, but that has never been the case here. It is more about pushing the right buttons and managing the players right according to a plan. We have a lot of good players here, and we don’t necessarily want to chop and change every week because then you lose momentum.”