New Zealand coach Graham Henry has expressed his satisfaction with the current rest period his top players are enjoying to boost their World Cup preparations.
Henry requested that 22 of the leading All Blacks miss the opening seven rounds of this year’s Super 14 competition and he is more than happy with the results.
”I think it’ll become more and more common around the world that players are given some space to prepare for professional rugby,” Henry told the New Zealand Press Association on Thursday.
”The players around the world are all complaining about the same thing — too much rugby, not enough time for guys to prepare correctly and look after themselves.”
The resting New Zealand players are all undergoing training to increase their fitness for this year’s World Cup in France.
”We’re delighted with what they’re doing. They’re all in good shape, they’re all making progress,” Henry said.
”The real results will show in a few weeks’ time. A lot of them are doing personal bests on the track and in the gym, and I think mentally they’re stimulated by it.”
New Zealand captain Richie McCaw said the benefits of rest were not just physical.
”The thing you can underestimate is the mental freshness of the guys,” he said.
”I’m sure there’s guys that are watching the games who wish they were playing but having a weekend free after a week’s hard training is something that we’re not familiar with.
The World Cup starts in France on September 7. – Reuters