Is Davids Poorcock too small?

The consensus appears to be that Brussouw is not one of the top 30 players in the country.....how silly that sounds....because he is too small. But he is 5'11" and weighs 224lbs. Pocock now the Aussie captain and set to be a fixture in their team for many years to come, is 6' 0" and weighs 229lbs.

These two play an exactly similar game. Pocock bested Heinrich in the RWCQF, but I really think Brussouw was hurt before the game. Heinrich has bested Pocock on may an occasion....they tend to have a fair old battle.

So here at last we have a definitive definition of the required size for flankers.....to play test rugby. Pocock is good, Brussouw is not . So we can infer:

Required weight x is  224lbs < x < 229 lbs

and/or

Required height y is  5'11" < y < 6'0".

Moz the answer will be revealed on Saturday. The esence of the question is not so much size but has the changed laws done in a  brussouw type player or is a player like him still needed. Meyer thinks the law changes haven't  favoured brussouw but that could change yet again. In a dominant pack in any event brussouw could shine.

All very intriging stuff. Lets see how Marcell goes - to me he deserves a shot.

An interesting config might have been Brussouw, Coetzee (8) and Elstadt 7. If all our loosies are all fit we have great depth of REAL talent.

Nope size was never the issue with Brussouw, its been the number of penalties he has conceded this S15 that has counted against him and Meyer has said as much. If size was an issue with Brussouw then Daniel who is smaller would not have made the bench, let alone the squad.

Size is the factor. And Hasbeen, if it's rules changes, why are the Aussies so dumb as to stick with Pocock? We are going to suddenly find, as we did when playing George Smith without a fetcher, that any time we have a ball on the ground, it goes to Aus.

Pocock has adapted better than Brussouw, he is not getting pinged nearly as much. Brussouw no doubt will be back for the Tri, for you will find with England, they do not employ a fetcher either. Robshaw their captain plays openside, he is anything but a fetcher at over 110kg's. Meyer has done his homework and gone for the all round option in Coetzee.

Having said that I do think it is a slap in the face to Brussouw, having not included him in the squad. Hell he could easily have been selected as the 33rd player. Silly really and short sighted of Meyer

From what I read this weekend, Brussow ruled himself out of contention by saying he had not played enough Rugby thus far. If that is true, I presume he will feature at some later stage ?

We don't have " fetchers " we have Open Side Flankers and it seems possible that Tom Johnson might fill that role in the very near future, being an out and out 7.

That's the first time I read Brussouw ruled himself out. Just a pity he never  told everybody else on the planet.

 Yeah I read that on the SS board as well, cant remember who posted that.

As for England, the last real fetcher you had was Back, but then again in those days they did not perform the function of todays Brussouw type fetcher.

England play Croft, Wood and Robshaw as opensides all of whom are big lads, Wood and Croft being pretty tall, over 6'5 hey Becs?

I dont think it matters what height you are in this position. Weight is important to some degree under 100kgs and you will struggle at this level in any fwd pack.

Re Brussouw I still rate him as one of SA's best fwds - dont you think if he is a bit under done that possibly keeping him in check till tri-nations later in the year (btw cant bring myself to call it championship because playing argentina isnt interesting enough frankly)

Time will tell if fetchers are thing of the past but I tend to think that a quality fetcher thats first at every second breakdown will turnover and change games is worth the risk of the odd penalty.

Additionally - I have a reliable source of Samoan origin (~120kgs) who was in Force squad and said that Pocock is so strong he just tears legs and arms from sockets at breakdowns like they are nothing....  

On saying so I DONT think pocock should be captain for Australia - another bad decision from Robbie & political ARU powers....

Also Aust has a number of young up & coming fetcher type looseys - I think you may find at certain times in a match playing 2x fetchers...

 There will always be a role for a fetcher, they just need to perfect the art according to the laws at the time. The art is winning the battle on the ground without being sanctioned for it.

Brussouw will be back, we have to think Meyer has done his homework on England, who do not employ a Brussouw type of fetcher. Their openisde flanker is Robshaw who is tall and over 110kg's.

However, I still think Brussouw should have been chosen as a squad member, it is a slap in the face excluding him and send the wrong message

If Meyer cites penalties conceded as reason not to include Brussow, then he is as much a fool as Peter. How then does Bismarck make the squad seeing as he is the highest of ALL South Africans in penalties conceded? The issue some say is that the laws have vanquished "his" kind of player. Well, then please explain away Pocock, Hooper and, in fact, Brussow this year, all three being the leading players in their positions. Brussow has had a fine season, and his work on the ground has gone a long way to aiding the Cheetahs. As mentioned before, losing him would cripple the Cheetahs far more than the loss of Goosen. He is one of the most well rounded players, which is utterly essential for a loose forward. Despite his size he has freakish strength that make players far taller and heavier than himself look sheepish. His only weakness is that he is not a lineout option; that's it, the only flaw, and the one thing his critics are too stupid to see as they never talk about it.

I very much agree with Saffex, this sends a very poor message out to players. Brussow is without question on of the very best players in world rugby, and if he, having a fine season, cannot break into the squad, then what message does that send out? Particularly when you have a player like Bismarck who is having an extremely poor S15 - and not for the first time either!
 

 {{Quote= How then does Bismarck make the squad seeing as he is the highest of ALL South Africans in penalties conceded? }}

Where do you get this from?  Please help me in understanding this by posting stats to prove the point.  If no statistical evidence is available it will just be a case of subjective reasoning.  Or a case of assume - making an ass...  (Maybe the ass has already been made who knows)

 Im sure if Brussouw played for the Bulls,things would be different

 Im sure if Brussouw played for the Bulls,things would be different

Utter subjective stupid logic - go back to your cage!  Look at the team and then think again.  Go drink some more papsak.

I have very little interest in posting stats anymore, or any in-depth posts. I have posted video evidence, stats, articles, detailed analysis of tests and all I have learnt is that I have wasted too uch time talking to people about rugby. I won't go in-depth ever again, particularly as my critics offer nothing, at least, to date, have offered nothing. But, I will enlighten on you matters on penalties - I have considerable resources at hand and always do thorough research before arriving at any conclusion. Take heed and follow suit.

Penalties (Fresh stats arrived)
Derick Minnie (23)
Bismarck dom Plessis (21)
Oosthuizen (21)
Dean Greyling (20)

And look, the Bismarck heralded as the breakdown warrior is not in the top 20 for pilfers yet is now in second place for turnovers conceded with  31! What does that mean? Bismarck has no presence at the breakdown and his only strength, strong carries, is negated by his poor ball retention! This means he has little value, particularly when you factor in his penalty count and poor defence. Add in his wonky lineout throws and poor scrumming and you have another myth on your hands. Time and again his critics simply bleat that he is the best in the world, despite struggling to keep pace with the best in South Africa. Liebenberg and Bismarck are a long way down the pecking order. Nothing anyone can say can prove otherwise.
 

 OK (thanks for the response) so your stats prove the man is not worthy of the praise!  So, who should it be?  Strauss and Chilly?  I'd go with Strauss.

What beats me though is why do the coaches and supposed "experts" not utilise these stats to come to the same conclusion.

WTF???

"Is Davids Poorcock too small?"

LOL whats with you guys today!

Im pissing myself laughing!

For the bright spark who changed my heading......explain how you did that.

 Very clever, but yes, how was that done?

I bet you Osama was behind it!

 The thought did cross my mind!