That means working out who is fit, what the bench will look like and which players will make the greatest impact.
Ultimately, who gets selected is often the difference between winning and losing.
One thing coaches may have had to navigate is the tricky selection of returning personnel for the playoffs who may have been unavailable for a number of weeks, but are now able to play.
Do you stick with the players who got you to the finals, or do you pick the strongest team available? Will it create issues with the team’s continuity or do you back a player who is one of the best in the team to make a much-needed impact, in a game that for many will be the highlight of their amateur career? It is a very fine line indeed.
I’m in the pick the best available players camp – taking into account if it will affect your rhythm or not.
We were in a situation a few years ago where a Crusader was eligible to play in our club finals at Rugby Park. Do we play him or not?
Due to the representative season and a small injury break, he had only played a handful of club games during the year but was now ready to return for a grand final.
There are many varied opinions on how this should be addressed but our process was to first speak to the player involved.
Was he happy to play? Yes. Secondly, talk to the leadership group/captain and discuss if this happened, how would they feel – what would the consensus be for the team?
In this case they were happy for him to play as they rightly wanted the best chance to win.
Lastly, talk to the player who wouldn’t be making an appearance on game day – explain the reasons. Though he was missing out and keen to play, he understood our position and realised it was team first, and he had made a great contribution to the season already.
In this case, the rugby gods smiled on us. We got the win and the following year we were final-bound again. The player who missed out the previous year was running out of the tunnel at kick-off and got to experience a grand final win.
But it is still a balancing act. Teams have to sort what suits them best.
- Sisson is a former player, Lincoln, Lincoln University and representative coach and New Zealand age group selector
