Quote: Noel Cleal "I think a lot of this is down to the clubs. There are no reserve fixtures, or Championship games, and the rules regarding the salary cap have been relaxed.
Clubs need to rotate there squads rather than just not bothering with games they can't be bothered with. If a club defaults on a game it should be classed as a loss and the club should be punished.'"
The issue here is 3, maybe 4 fold.
Number of games and frequency of games.
Injuries, due to the above but also due to increased number of tackles and the ball being in play for longer during games under covid rules.
Absentees due to covid tests itself, including isolation periods.
Finally, with reserve/academy games not being played and certainly with some fringe / younger players having been furloughed, they cant suddenly play on a Saturday or, whichever day.
Also when a game is postponed because of issues with the opposition, it seem wrong that a team then has to play an extra game in a very short space of time.
I realise that we are in difficult and unprecedented times but, the postponements/missed games could certainly be a major factor in who makes the semi's and ultimately who makes the GF.