Player resting rules challenge Super Rugby's 'integrity' - Waratahs coach

New South Wales Waratahs coach Darren Coleman believes player resting protocols are tainting the "integrity" of Super Rugby Pacific, following their heavy loss to the Blues.

WRAP | Super Rugby Pacific - Round 9

Coleman deliberately fielded a weakened team in Saturday's 55-21 defeat at Eden Park, to "knock off the Wallaby resting that we had to do" and conceded it wasn't a good look.

Both Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby have mandated their Super Rugby teams must impose a number of games for their international players to miss, aimed at keeping their workloads in check ahead of the Rugby World Cup starting in September.

Coleman says he supports the move if it will improve the Wallabies' chances of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup but agreed when asked if it affected the reputation of the southern hemisphere's premier domestic competition.

"Supporting the national team is definitely the company line and one that I'm happy to support," Coleman told reporters after the game.

"The integrity of the competition? Yeah, you could argue it does sort of compromise that a little bit.

"It's not great for the competition but in a World Cup year you've just got to suck it up I guess."

Coleman believed the ACT Brumbies employed the same tactic when faced with a challenging fixture against the Crusaders in Christchurch last month.

The Canberra-based side handed rests to a number of key players and suffered their only loss of the season to date.

A Waratahs team fielding three players on debut and another three making their first start were no match for the Blues side laden with All Blacks, who ran in seven tries.

Among the Waratahs rested was veteran Test flanker Michael Hooper, who is set to return for next week's match against the Highlanders in