Trials a "necessary evil" for Super 14 sides

Thursday 21 January 2010
Published By:
Super Rugby > Reds

With teams down under preparing for the first of their trial matches ahead of the Super 14 season, one fan has offered a prediction for how each one will pan out.

Writing for Green and Gold Rugby, Lance Free described the matches as boring occasions featuring players you are unlikely to hear of again.

But he suggested that they are a "necessary evil", testing match fitness and giving up-and-comers the illusion that they might have a chance of making the squad.

And the poster expects to see a simple formula over the course of three games - the first featuring mainly academy players and the "odd senior man on the bench", with the second a mixture to maintain "a bit of false hope for the also-rans" and the third representing a "routine return to the usual suspects".

The Warratahs kick-off their trials with a trip to Lismore to play the Reds and the likes of Phil Waugh and Berrick Barnes are set to mingle with fans over the course of the weekend.

Posted by David Rawlings