What to do about Lambie 10 or 15?

As many has stated before, Lambie is either a talented flyhalf or fullback and then there is some that think he is just not worth all the hype. As Flyhalf he has played exceptionally well for the Sharks in the currie cup, but being a player for the sharks also means that you never develop in one position.

One thing that Lambie does have, is time on his side. Currently South Africa is experiencing a boom in quality flyhalfs, we have the likes of Goosen, Steyn and Jantjies who I believe will improve in a better team. Then don’t forget Lambie who on his day can be as good as anybody else. 

One thing that we really miss in SA is quality Fullbacks, not since Monty has hanged up his boots have the Springboks been able to find a quality fullback. We have Viljoen, to inconsistent, Ludik now plays on the wing and has never been test standard, Kirchner, Superrugby is his limit, Pietersen, Taute, none of whom really stands out. 

But we also need to look at the attributes that makes a great fullback and I just feel that we don’t have that type of player in SA. For me Dagg and Mills was probably one the best modern fullbacks. But we also have Frans Steyn which I think should have chosen to stay at Fullback as it would have meant that he prolongs his career and develop into one of the greatest fullbacks SA have ever seen. But the player clearly wants to play in the centers and there is nothing we can do about it.

So the question is, is Lambie a 10 or 15?

No question 15. He just does not impress me at 10. He may think so, but I don't think he has enough time on the ball at 10. At 15 he just seems more comfortable. Mills is the best fullback of the modern era, no question about that for me. You are right, we lack the Monty or Joubert type fullback in SA at the moment. As you have said, given time maybe he could develop into a world beater. I know saffex will bring this up, and I sort of agree, Lambie MAY be (Not IS) a little small for the Modern game.

May I disagree with you about Lambie at flyhalf.   I rate him very highly in that position - he really was better at CC and Super 15 level than Steyn and he was thus far better than Jantjies as well.   The tries he scored on that level - none of the others would have scored.

However, as you rightly pointed out - we are having problems in getting a top full back.   Do not give me the crap about Lambie being to small.   He is the same height as Montgomery and weigh a few kilos more.   In the same league is Joe Pietersen.    The top full backs in SA at this stage is Lambie and Pietersen, but you may have a different opinion.

Globally seen - I would rather play Lambie at full back and include Pietersen in the squad to back him up.   The reason for that is that both of them are real readers of games and know what could be done to maximum advantage (ie they have "ball sense")  a quality completely lacking in Kirchner. 

So I will follow Meyer - who apparently will use Lambie at full back.

Mike, I agree about Kirchner at fullback, he is not the answer. As for Lambie's size, please note, I am on the fence on this issue. If a player is truly special, size is not an issue, but it is an asset. Even in the test over the weekend, Lambie got bullied a little in contact, on one or two occasions...but on the other hand Spies did too. Look, being bigger is an asset, that is just the way things go in a contact sport. I still 100% believe he can become one of our best fullbacks. As for playing him at 10, I think we can all agree that Goosen is the future of that position, and for the moment, Morne is there to stay. If Lambie is smart he'll make the fullback position his own, and almost guarantee himself a spot in the the current and future Springbok teams. If he insists on playing 10, he has to compete with Morne now, and Goosen in the future, and either way, he may well lose out.

lambie is world class at both 10 and 15, brings a strong defensive quality to the fullback and an attacking presence when at 10, without losing the saffa trademark highquality kicking game.
i dont agree about the size issue, i think lambie has a sh!tload of skills and more importantly brains to manage fullback with great ease.

IMO meyer should still use morne, his exeperience and talented boot has gotten the Boks out of trouble more often then not and is still a valuable asset for the Boks.
lambie should be the 15 as some have mentioned, for there is an issue there at the moment, f steyn and jp could cover it immediately should the need arise, but lambie is both the short and long term soloution.
im sure we can all agree that every second he spends on the bench, is an absoloute waste.

i also dont think that krichner is a bad player, i found him to be consistently good in the spXV, his last couple of games wernt the best, but all in all he played very well for the bulls and displayed his vast array of all round skills.
i still prefer a few others in front of him for the 15, but hes a great player still and IMO wouldnt let the Bok jersey down.

the thing with the No10 is that its only important to focus for the shorterm future, cos soon enough, johan goosen will begin an era at with the Boks flyhalf which looks to have more potential then all past No10s.

It is a difficult question as he could makea success in both positins, So as mike says where is he most needed and again its tricky becauseinjuries can blow ones plans up. THat aside w eprobably need him more at 15.

Size wise he is 92 kg and will put on another kg or two s osize is not an issue. Joe is 87 kg. personally i would prefer a 100 kgfullback with all the skills and pace etc. However Lambie I think can do a good job for us.

To me he is a very talented flyhalf.

Lambie's attacking threat comes from running onto the ball with timing....not from a step or strength. This is better deployed from fullback, cutting into the line. His defensive strong suit is the knee high tackle, again most valuable in the open field tackle. Once he goes high, his effectiveness drops considerably.

 He is such an astute player and so gutsy, he could play either position. But what he does best says fullback.

Lambie's attacking threat comes from running onto the ball with timing....not from a step or strength. This is better deployed from fullback, cutting into the line. His defensive strong suit is the knee high tackle, again most valuable in the open field tackle. Once he goes high, his effectiveness drops considerably.

 He is such an astute player and so gutsy, he could play either position. But what he does best says fullback.

Lambie is a class act, be it at 10 or 15. We have Goosen and Jantjies as the future at 10, so we dont need Lambie at 10 - he therefore has to play 15.

Having said that, with Goosen out, I'd rather have Lambie at 10 for the Boks ahead of Morne

Number nine, number nine, number nine.....er number10.

If we can't find a regular position for LAmbie... lets do what we did to Brent Russell and Ruan Pienaar...

Chuck him away!

That should work wonders!

Great to see everybody points of view. My personal preference at 15 is still Frans Steyn. The guy has a huge boot to relieve pressure, big and strong in the tackle, great eye for the gap and can join the line at pace with great timing.

As for Lambie, he does seem to be very competent at the back but I think he is a better 10. He plays really flat and is not afraid to attack the gain line. This is great as it ask questions of the defence. With modern defensive structures that tend to drift, this is good for us because it stops the drift defence and allows our inside backs to run straight.

I rate Goosen very highly but he still needs to mature mentally it may take him another 5 years before he reaches his maturity. Keep in mind that he may get injured and be out of the game for a long time that leaves us with very few options.

Ideally I would rather see Steyn go to 15, lambie to 10, De Villiers to 12 and bring in JJ or De Jongh.

9 Hougaard, 10 Lambie, 11 Habana, 12 De Villiers, 13 JJ, 14 Pietersen, 15 Steyn

Morne for me is way to predictable on attack. If you watch guys like Cruden who runs with the ball in both hands, have quick feet and keep the defence guessing by getting them to move from their mark.

The other player that has the same attacking attributes as Cruden is Jantjies, the kids defence has improved remarkably but I don’t think he would shine as long as the lions are playing poor, although they did show what they can do against the sharks, but in order to consider him they will need to do it consistently.