In the past there have been coaches who, knowing they are assured of a place in the play-offs, have rested their entire team in the last week of the league stage of the season in preparation.
Frans Ludeke did it with the Bulls in 2010, sending a second string team to Newlands to play the Stormers. The Bulls lost that game, but won the final against the same Stormers team at Orlando Stadium two weeks later.
The Stormers did it a few years back too when they played the Sharks in a “dead rubber” final league game with a second string team, and Western Province also did it at Currie Cup level, but the more recent example of the resting in preparation for the knock-outs approach was Lions coach Johan Ackermann’s infamous – in some eyes anyway – decision to rest his first choice players for a trip to Buenos Aires to face the Jaguares 12 months ago.
The Lions lost that game and with it the opportunity to finish top of the log. That cost them what would have been a home final, though looking at it that way may be a bit simplistic – Ackermann could justifiably argue that had he not rested his players, and been forced to fly back from Argentina just a few days before their quarterfinal, they might have lost that game and not even made the semifinal.
It is a lot less complicated for Ackermann this year. He has bye week scheduled for the penultimate round, and before that a not particularly taxing home match against the Sunwolves. The last game is against the Sharks in Durban, with the 50 minute flight being a lot less demanding than the trek to Argentina. Travel is not a factor to consider in the same way as it was last year.
The Stormers and Sharks are also sure of playing in the quarterfinals, with the Sharks in a similar situation to the Lions in that they also have a bye this week. Where the Durbanites are different from the Lions and Stormers though is that they don’t yet know where they will be the week after their last league game.
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