I’m sorry, Chris, but the clubs made a bad call
I am sorry to say that I disagree with Chris Hewett who seems to have made the assumption that the Premiership is producing an outstandingly good product because of the turnover of clubs competing in the play-offs at the end of the season.
However, the reality is, because of the need to rest players and the fact that they are only allowed to play a certain number of games per season, many of the “better” clubs are left with a major disadvantage because they supply the players for the international game.
What this means is at various crucial times in the season “star players” are rested or unavailable and the coaches have to choose when to rest them, potentially at the cost of losing games.
This is the PRL’s own fault as they were offered the chance to have a break in their season during internationals but they turned it down.
Unfortunately, it has created an unbalanced league for games where some clubs have to field weakened sides and may pay the price later in the season.
A judgement is made involving the value of each competition to the club and the players are rested accordingly throughout the season. Teams playing in the European Challenge Cup often field second string players in the early stages as it is deemed a lower standard of competition than the Champions Cup and not so prestigious for the clubs.
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