Concerns Raised Over Springboks Test Players' Workload

Sharks coach and former All Blacks assistant coach John Plumtree warned that the growing injury list, especially of international players, was unsustainable.

He said players needed a proper break each year rather than the two-week 'windows of rest' they are given during the 12-month treadmill they are on.

Players needed an off-season, followed by a pre-season, that allowed them to refresh and condition themselves. If that didn't happen, several top players would not make it to the 2027 World Cup.

Leading South African rugby writer Gavin Rich said in Business Day, "It should be a concern for all SA rugby fans and stakeholders that while the All Black players that were beaten by the Boks in the [Rugby] Championship a few months ago were putting their feet up in December and taking their minds off rugby by watching cricket, fishing and lying on the beach, the Boks were still busy with the same season.

"And still will be in the same season and on the treadmill when they face the All Blacks in two crucial Championship matches in New Zealand in August.

"When those matches are being played, the Boks' northern opponents, and the ones they play at club level, will be having their turn to rest.

"It is a situation that isn't sustainable, and it amounts to the biggest threat to continued Bok domination of world rugby."