26 Apr 2014, 22:13#2
... Yea Le Roux gets a lot of grief for his defence but a great attacking player that almost won the game for SA at Ellis Park last year...seems to lift his performance when he dons that Springbok jersey...one of SA's best
RORooinek
Captain18,117 posts
RORooinekCaptain18,117 posts
26 Apr 2014, 22:26#3
Disagree Brycy, Willie Le Roux is a decent enough Super 15 player - although I doubt he'd crack my bench if I was picking a combined Super15 team - but when he puts on that green jersey he suddenly becomes a serial kicker, kicking away possession with stupid little chip kicks every time he gets the ball.
S15 fullbacks I'd pick ahead of Le Roux include Charles Piutau, Israel Folau and - on recent form - Andre Taylor.
S15 wingers I'd pick ahead of Le Roux include Julian Savea, Lwazi Mvovo, Nick Cummins and Tim Nanai-Williams.
Like I said, Willie's not bad, but he's a weak defender, he kicks too much and he's a bit of a prima-donna glory-boy . . . and he wouldn't crack my bench if I was picking a combined Super15 team.
POpolyboy
Club Pro601 posts
27 Apr 2014, 01:10#6
Simply put....no. Best SA Super15 back player yes.
MOMozart
Captain49,914 posts
MOMozartCaptain49,914 posts
27 Apr 2014, 01:21#7
Willie is the new Campese....an attacking genius.
sharkbok
Captain23,295 posts
sharkbokCaptain23,295 posts
27 Apr 2014, 01:53#9
@polyboy, New Zealand does have more depth in the backs, but Willie has made more metres than any team individuals, even the Canes who have allways had a very expansive game plan. I would expect other stats would also provide supporting proof to substantiate this assessment.
Fortunately at Springbok level we do have enough to depth to choose from. Habana is the best wing in the world, and Willie the most creative player in world rugby at the moment.
MOMozart
Captain49,914 posts
MOMozartCaptain49,914 posts
27 Apr 2014, 04:08#11
I have wondered the same thing. He is effectively at 10 so often, eg in the Daniller try. If we really wanted to play attacking rugby Willie is the man.
Hope things are going well Blikkies....it's good to see you on here.
27 Apr 2014, 05:03#12
On form yes le roux is up def up their, but i wouldenr say the best. And disagree re habana, based on present form apart from having an off game I wld pick savea over habana. Heres the stats for metres gained so far
Metres Ran:
Le Roux 849 Metres ran
Trys: 3
Defenders Beaten and Clean Breaks: 26
Savea 664 Metres ran
Defenders Beaten and Clean Breaks: 50
Trys: 3
Taylor 386 metres ran (only started three games so far tho, and a few off the bench)
Defenders Beaten and Clean Breaks: 23
Trys: 1
Piatau 627 Metres Ran
Defenders Beaten and Clean Breaks: 36
Trys: 2
Leiua 387 Metres Ran (once again has only started about 4 games, rest were off the bench)
Defenders Beaten and Clean Breaks: 49
Trys: 3
Folau 580 Metres Ran
Defenders Beaten and Clean Breaks: 32
Trys: 9
27 Apr 2014, 05:04#13
You've don't know what you have done Sharkbok. You are going to cause some major damage to the Kiwi posters egos .
Especially Sasuke.
JWJust_win
Captain18,570 posts
JWJust_winCaptain18,570 posts
27 Apr 2014, 11:22#15
Le Roux is notable because of his very positive impact on his teams performance. He stands out in that regard. Other players that 3ku1 has listed have great performances also but they do not have the visible impact of Le Roux. So if we look beyond the stats and look at an individuals impact on his team it would be Le Roux as the "best" back in the S15 comp (maybe because the rest of the team is pretty crap, lol).
Don't worry about kiwi egos as regards our rugby, lol & don't worry about Sasuke San. He has disappeared but he must be re-working his stat tables & should emerge firing on all cylinders any time now.
Sasuke San hard at work
& the fair-minded kiwi said: "go easy on the poor SA posters mate, you could scare them off"
