So lets get the shouting and screaming to start - bearing in mind that I always lok at bth test and franchise performances:-
1. Carter
2. Barrett
3 Cruden
4 O'Connor
5 Cooper
If we go down 20 places we could perhaps get t o Morne Steyn.
1 Cruden
2 Barrett
3 Carter
4 Morne
5 Cooper
My top 4 picks are:
1. Cruden
2. Barrett
3. Carter
4. Morne (sorry Mike but he has been part of a winning team & provides stability)
5. Whoever the top fly-half is in the NH. I don't watch enough of their games to know.
On the issue of if Cruden is first or if it is Barrett, I think Barrett will be the medium-term first choice. I still have concerns about Cruden's resiliance at the test level. The good thing is ABs don't have to worry about it because both will be needed. Having Carter in the mix will prolong his career and give the ABs a third option.
On Morne, I think he will fade to a back-up role as soon as a viable & reliable option is found.
Mozart
Morne is not even good enough to start as Stade Francais flyhalf. That shows how really mediocre he is.
JW the reason I put the Quaalude at 5 is simply because he was effective on the NH tour. Yes he got much more space and time, and without that he is ineffective. But still, he produced under those easier conditions. The obvious NH flyhalf was Sexton, who also played for the Lions....but he was outplayed by Cooper up until the time Sexton departed. And that missed sitter against the ABs extended 100 years of Irish failure....that has to nix him.
oi-mate y
Ever heard of a very expensive flop - Jantjies last year and Morne this year.
I know I am gona take some flack here but whats the buzz on Cruden? He seems very, very ordinary. Maybe its because, surrounding him, the AB's have the impressive Barrett and Carter but Barrett makes Cruden look like a club player on the international stage.
Cruden does the basics well enough but thats about it. Carter and Barrett have the x-factor whilst Cruden will do little more than an ordinary flyhalf is expected to do. He doesn't make many breaks anymore. He doesn't try take on the defence enough. He is a distributor with little x-factor.
He does play well in Super rugby though but the step up seems to "scare" something in to him that he looks like he is just trying to not fuck up instead of trying to own the park like he does in Super rugby. Maybe thats Carter, Barrett and Taylor's fault as you have 3 awesome players putting pressure on that 10 jersey every game.
1. Elton Jantjies
2. Tony Jantjies
3. Willie Le Roux
4. Johan Goosen
5. Elgar Watts
Regards,
David Searle
I know I am gona take some flack here but whats the buzz on Cruden? He seems very, very ordinary. Maybe its because, surrounding him, the AB's have the impressive Barrett and Carter but Barrett makes Cruden look like a club player on the international stage.
Cruden does the basics well enough but thats about it. Carter and Barrett have the x-factor whilst Cruden will do little more than an ordinary flyhalf is expected to do. He doesn't make many breaks anymore. He doesn't try take on the defence enough. He is a distributor with little x-factor.
He does play well in Super rugby though but the step up seems to "scare" something in to him that he looks like he is just trying to not fuck up instead of trying to own the park like he does in Super rugby. Maybe thats Carter, Barrett and Taylor's fault as you have 3 awesome players putting pressure on that 10 jersey every game.
1. Elton Jantjies
2. Tony Jantjies
3. Willie Le Roux
4. Johan Goosen
5. Elgar Watts
Regards,
David Searle
