Has Hougaard got the smarts?

There can be few who would quibble with me if I claimed that althetically Hougaard is the best scrummie in the world. However where he is falling short is the smarts. Compare him to Genia who is very effective game after game. A complete allround scrummie excelling in all departments. He and Barnes can control a game and make a very good combo. Looks to me that Quad has a battle on his hands to reclaim his flyhalf berth.

Hougaard would do well to take a hard look at how quickly the NZ scrummie clears his line and how he breaks enough to keep the loosies interested. Hougaard should study these two.

He has the potential to be better than both IF he has the smarts.

Hougaard and Genia are the same type of player. Hougaard though has not played 9 as consistently as Genia, but will improve over time. I do however believe his ddevelopment has stalled. Where Du Preez kept improving, to the point of perfection, Hougaard is starting to fall for his own hype. He is not a spectacular tactical player, and this is an area that Genia is only recently starting to improve on. The big difference for Australia was having a test quality 10 outside him. In the modern game it is much better to have you 9 doing the flashy stuff and your 10 just doing his job.

Der Aristokrat

When I first actually saw Du Preez in two tests - one and Twickenham - where he on his own lost the game for us - and one at Murrayfield (where he was replaced at half-time) and we then went o0n to win the test., I was most critical about Du Preez.

After those disasters mentioned Du Preez started to improve - but unfortunately he never was an imaginative scrummie - he always followed virtually the same line of play - kick or back to the forwards or kick, not much in the line of variation.   Within this confines he developed into a useful and acceptable level player up to 2007.

Thereafter his performances started to deteriorate marketly and the best one can say about him is that he managed well within limited capacity for about 3 years.    Problem was he was not a all-round player and could not develop into a really top class scrummie,

Hougaard can anytime match Genia and other scrummies - but he has to be allowed to play more his own game and he must have an effectoive flyhalf - not Morne - for him to really show his worth    Better protection by the loosies will also help. 

Mike, you are a liar. I have the entire 2004 EOYT! I already disproved your lies about that England test, you started back-peddling, then went quiet. Please don't talk about something you know nothing about. Du Preez was sublimed throughout 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011. Live with it, deal with it. Or provide at least one shred of evidence to support that hot air you keep puffing.

Furthermore, why MUST a 9 need a quality 10? The 9 is the first to receive the ball. At any rate, Hougaard has done very well with Morné. You keep embarrassing yourself.