Tue, Nov 10, 2020 page16

• New Zealand tips the scales for smaller rugby players

  • AFP, WELLINGTON
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  The tackles still crunch and the dark arts of the front row remain, but do not expect to see the big men fly in New Zealand’s weight-restricted rugby competition.

  New Zealand Rugby set up a national tournament this year that allows only players weighing 85kg or less to compete, an innovation that has proved immensely popular at the game’s grassroots level.

  Former All Blacks coach Graham Henry believes the competition has the potential to lift flagging player participation rates and boost the game’s appeal in Asia.

  

  Former All Blacks coach Graham Henry, a member of Canada’s coaching staff, looks on prior to the Rugby World Cup Pool B match between Italy and Canada in Fukuoka, Japan, on Sept. 26 last year.

  Photo: AFP

  “Since the advent of professionalism, there’s probably been a focus on the elite, rather than everybody,” said Henry, who guided the All Blacks to Rugby World Cup success in 2011. “This gives an opportunity for those who can’t compete because they’re smaller to fulfill their ambitions and keeps them in the game.”

  A case in point is Joel Taylor, captain of the Eden Lizards, who won the competition final against the Auckland University Squids 27-24 at Eden Park on Saturday, the spiritual home of New Zealand rugby.

  Taylor, who described himself as “a comfortable 83kg,” was unsure whether he would still be playing rugby if the weight-restricted game was not an option.

  The 27-year-old advertising executive is a flanker, a position where elite players often weigh in excess of 110kg.

  “It’s definitely nice to be one of the bigger blokes on the field,” he said.

  ‘SUPERB’ STANDARD

  Steve Lancaster, head of participation and development at New Zealand Rugby, said that the competition emerged after the union held focus groups to examine ways to address declining player numbers.

  “The reality in open-grade rugby is there can be a big size and weight disparity and that creates physical mismatches,” he said. “At this grade, you’ve got a cohort of players that are all within a relatively close weight range, and it leads to a much more even competition.”

  Under-85kg matches tend to be faster than open-grade rugby, with the ball in play for longer periods, Henry said.

  “The standard is superb, these are some very good footballers,” he said.

  Henry said that the focus for under-85kg players is on being part of the rugby community, rather than feeding into the elite tier of the sport.

  “These are guys who have careers, they’re doing other things,” he said. “Rugby is their enjoyment, their pastime, their hobby — but it’s not their life, like it is for a professional player.”

  Taylor said that did not mean the contest was any less intense on the pitch.

  “I wouldn’t describe it as a social grade at all, it’s definitely extremely competitive and there’s a lot of really talented players,” he said.

  GREAT FOR ASIA

  Squids coach Jack Haplin agreed, saying that the under-85 remains a full-contact collision sport, albeit one where players are likely to recover slightly quicker than if they had been flattened by a 100kg-plus opponent.

  “It’s the same game, same tactics, the dark arts of the front row are identical,” he said.

  Henry was excited about the prospect of taking the weight-restricted version of the game overseas, saying that it would be ideal for a country such as Sri Lanka, which has a long rugby history.

  “They love the game, they’re just not big enough to compete at the international level,” he said. “At under-85s, you have a lot of Asian teams who would be very good and you’d have a wonderful international tournament.”

  He said that there was no guarantee New Zealand would come out on top in such a contest.

  “Can you image a New Zealand under-85kg team playing a Japan under-85kg team? I think we might struggle,” he said.

  Lancaster said that such a tournament was a possibility, although it was still some way off.

  “We’ve actually been having some dialogue with an entity in Asia that’s interested in hosting an international competition for restricted-grade players,” he said. “Whether or not that gets off the ground in the next year or two, there’s certainly interest globally in restricted-grade rugby.”

  If the success of the under-85kg competition continues, New Zealand Rugby has “an open mind” about introducing further weight grades, Lancaster said.
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