The demands of international rugby do not appear to me to be any different this year than they are in any Lions year, with the exception that the Six Nations teams will play either one postponed fixture, or two, to decide the winner of the 2020 title.
There has been a lot of debate whether one season running into another will be too much for the players, but all of the professional rugby has conditioning experts, and there are guidelines on the total number of games that players can play.
It is possible that in these unprecedented times that could change, but midweek matches being scheduled at club level in the Premiership means that international players will have to be rested at times in the season if they are to play the number of Tests scheduled between the end of October – when the 2020 Six Nations is concluded – and the end of the Lions tour in the first week of August 2021.
What also has to be factored in is that the players have had 100 days break, and they have had a proper pre-season, so you would expect them to go into this restart re-booted and refreshed. Yes, it is a compact, tight and intense schedule, and a long season, but they have had some serious rest. It is much more than they expect normally – and that should help them to prepare for this elongated playing schedule.
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Denne historien er fra August 02, 2020-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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England show who's No.1
ENGLAND women’s head coach John Mitchell says his side will take valuable lessons from the 24-12 win over world champions New Zealand as they build towards their WXV1 title defence.
Skivington: We're going to roll dice and go for it
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Four-try England make it 17 wins on the spin
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Time for Borthwick to prove his worth
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Barrington ready to power up the Mob
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Skivington keen to build identity
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Roebuck targets England success
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Booth: Tough telling players I was leaving
TOBY Booth admits telling his Ospreys players that he would be leaving at the end of the season was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his career.
Stephens' debut try sees off old rivals
DORKING had to dig deep in another tight game between two old rivals, with the lead changing hands twice and result in doubt right up to the final whistle.
