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Johannesburg - South Africa must field a second string rugby team on the end of year tour each season if the Springboks are to compete at their best in major global events, renowned sports scientist Tim Noakes said on Tuesday.
"SA rugby must learn that you can win those games with a second team of players who are named earlier in the season and are able to prepare together," he said.
"Every year, they can put together a group of players who are able to play in cold, wet conditions, and who can play together as a team."
Five days before the first game of the Springboks' 2010 end of year tour to the United Kingdom, 13 players have already been removed from the national squad. The tour starts against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
"You don’t need the best rugby players to play the best rugby," said Noakes.
"If you have a group who have had a chance to prepare together, they will be able to compete at the highest level.
"Ireland have been playing together for years, and they will play together as a team, but we think we can put together a side at the last minute and we’ll go over there and beat them."
Noakes said the SA Rugby Union (SARU) should give regular Springboks motivation to put their feet up at the end of each year.
"I’ve learned that the players want to play every game," he said.
"They are also rewarded for playing, but they’re not rewarded for resting."
After repeatedly warning the national federation that senior players needed to be rested every season, Noakes said SARU had turned a blind eye and their injury woes would only be compounded.
"The guys didn’t rest after last year’s tour, then they played too much rugby this year," he said.
"Some players have not rested properly for three or four years, and it gets worse every season."
Players were also in danger of shortening their careers if they played year in and year out without sufficient rest.
"Former Springbok captain Andre Vos (who retired from professional rugby in 2007) told me the other day that at the age of 27 he was completely wiped out," Noakes said.
"He just wasn’t able to play any more, but at 27 or 28 the guys are at their peak and they should be playing their best rugby."
Ironically, South Africa’s recent injury worries may have boosted their chances of taking the title at next year’s World Cup in New Zealand for a third time.
However, the regular Boks who would end up playing on the upcoming five-match tour could not be expected to perform at their best in the global championship, said Noakes.
"We lost the 1999 World Cup because we toured England in 1998, and key players were exhausted and under pressure," Noakes said.
"We had great players, but they were tired, and we had lost key players through injury, so as the defending champions we had to settle for third."
