I don’t worry so much about the travel mid-season for internationals as the players already have their base level of fitness. My concern about pre-season is that they don’t develop that base-level properly and are then playing catch-up when games are coming thick and fast. Similarly new players don’t get enough time to adjust to systems of play. You often see it when new players get injured in pre-season, they spend months trying to catch up. By contrast, players who already work hard at their fitness in their own time (or who have high natural levels of athleticism) are less affected. But across a squad, it’s a problem.
I just think the long-haul tours take too much training time away and replace it with tiring travel and jet-lag. It’s hugely sub-optimal.
I think last year we were done over by a long-tiring season the year before (with a deflating end), ageing core players but also the long-haul tour in pre-season. We were blowing out of our arses in the second half against Fulham on the first day of the season and never recovered.
