Your favourite rugby position and why

8

Morné, Garry, Bobby and Thor.

Zinzan too...Read was an OK pretender.

So Saffex, your favourite position is bending over and being dominated by Hennie Leroux. That is how Hennie broke your collar bone?

10

Most skillful position on the field.

Read the game and make the play accordingly.

A mix of athletic skills combined with good hands and boot.

Mark Ella (Aust), Jonny Wilkinson (Eng), Bruce James, Mertens (NZ), Honeyball, Gerald Bosch, Hugo Porta (Argentina) and now the Welsh greats:

Cliff Morgan

Garth Davies

John Barry

Phil Bennett.

One of the most entertaining and skillful  #10's that I watched play was Carlos Spencer.

Hooker - The real cog of the forwards,  

10....the rest is just dumb muscle.

10...show ponies. 

All positions could be a favourite if you were as good as these standout masters were in their respective roles. But flank and hooker were my favourite.

Zin Zan Brooke, Gareth Edwards, Ray Mordt, Ian Robertson, Mighty Mouse Mc Laug hlin,  Benoit Dauga, JPR Williams, Danie Gerber, Christian Cullen, Hugo Porta, Andre Joubert and Ruben Kruger my favourite players ever

Dave, I played more games of rugby at hooker than any other position but as much as I appreciate the pugnacious physicality and understated athleticism required of a hooker and as much as I admire great hookers like Bismarck du Plessis, Keith Wood, Malcolm Marx and the legendary Sean Fitzpatrick, that's not the position I'm going to nominate.

I'm going to nominate #15, the fullback, a position I was asked to play on a few occasions not because of any exceptional speed I had, but because I had a massive boot . . . and also because it's the position my son ended up playing and could have gone on to achieve something in rugby if not for a series of concussions that ended his rugby career.

There is no position on the rugby field that requires more subjective interpretation than fullback. If you're a prop it's because you have great leg or upper body strength. If you're an effective lock it's because you are a big and tall man who can challenge opponents with sheer physicality. If you're a try-scoring wing it's because you're very fast and if you're a good centre it's because you can bust the line and set up an attack, whether that is due to sheer strength or deft footwork.

Fullback is different. You can be a great fullback because of your exceptional pace and acceleration . . . like Christian Cullen . . . you can be a great fullback because of a rock-like defence . . . like JPR Williams . . .  you can be a great fullback because of a massive or sweet boot . . . like Frans Steyn or Leigh Halfpenny . . . you can be a great fullback if you have some measure of all of those elements . . . like Andre Joubert, Jeff Wilson or Serge Blanco. There is no position on the rugby field that allows for such a variety of skill and which impacts on the overall game-plan of the team than fullback.

As you may or may not know, I've never been a big fan of Willie le Roux. I know you rate him highly but to me he's a weak fullback who tends to get rid of possession by kicking the ball away as opposed to a more constructive and adventurous fullback like Christian Cullen, Aphelele Fassi, Rob Kearney or Tom Banks who will assess the situation and adapt accordingly, but generally keep a hold of the ball or at least create a 50/50 situation if he does kick it away.

So my answer to your question is #15 fullback and I hope I've given you some good reasons why I say that. I can count on one hand the number of times I played that position myself but as I reflect on my playing career (at my advanced old age), I can tell you that my memories, regrets and moments of pride are all centred on what I could or couldn't have changed in a match when I had the scope, vision and versatility of a fullback.

Can't say the same about too many other positions . . . and I played scrumhalf when I was little, hooker and/or #8 when I got a lot bigger and fullback when my team needed a big boot. Wish I'd been more adventurous and ambitious when I was wearing that #15 jersey.

" Posted by: Saffex (18316 posts)

Draad would you expect anything less from Moz!!!"

 Nope.

BTW, my 2nd fav is TH...the real pivot...

Centre huh? ... and yet it’s probably THE position you know the least about.

Go figure.

I’ve lost count on all the outside backs you’ve selected at centre over the years. Let’s face it, you’ve conjured up many excuses in your defence ... we’ve seen countless fabrications coming from you in defence of your midfield picks ... from imaginary side steps ... to their weedy defensive efforts ... even though their clueless head high tackle techniques are obvious for all to see, ol Dub Fuck Dave will persist with his ignorance, always claiming to be the know-it-all.

What?? To beat them one on one? Did you honestly just say that?

Who ... you??

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahhaaaa!!

But, but, but Dumb Fuck, I thought that the modern era of rugby and its defensive lines have eradicated that. Isn’t that what you’ve been telling us? Could have sworn that that was one of your latest excuses for an impotent midfielder.

You really should pick a bullshit story and stick to it. This constant chopping and changing is confusing.  

It’s probably best that you stick to your favourite sex position and leave anything rugby related alone ... you know ... the one where you move in behind all your dear homo friends when they come over or a sleepover.  

You’re undoubtedly a lot more knowledgeable on the techniques needed there than anything at centre.

My advice ... stick to your strengths, Davey my boy.

Rooinek, good post, my top possie's no,9

My favourite position is 12, but I'd say both centre positions are favourites. Their importance in SA rugby has been rather disappointing. South Africa does not have a strong tradition for producing good quality centres and this is the real power of your back line attack. Teams without good centres are not good attacking teams. You can have whatever halfback pair you like, or any back three combination, it will carry a severe bottleneck that cannot be overcome and you'll never see the full potential of those positions manifest. The potential for creation of space reaches its peak at 12, and the most important defensive position on the field is 13. Good centres can dramatically alter the effectiveness of the entire XV. We talk of forwards creating front foot ball for the backs, but backs also determine quality of possession. Backs who cannot create space can take front foot ball and create stodgy possession that goes sideways, not forward. Penetrative backplay keeps the forwards moving forward and amplifies their power, or even conceals a lack of it. Therefore I place so much importance on centres. I played both, but mostly 12. 

Redneck's always been a little soft and flabby around the mid section ... hence the coach moving him from scrummie to the front row. That's where he stayed most of his rugby career. 

I'm yet to see a short dumpy 130kg full back being effective ... especially if his time over the 100 is around the 30 second mark.

As is usually the case with most props, they tend to struggle catching the ball. I know it's a basic skill but for some reason it's beyond the larger lads. Pass them a pie and they're sure to catch it .. but a rugby ball is a little different. That is probably why the coach teaches the rest of the team to rather pass it into their bread basket.

Playing at 15 is a pipe dream for the lad. As a lad he probably knew that his dream would never be realized and so he took to comforting himself with larger than usual plates of food.

Gotta feel for the poor dear.

LMAO

30 second mark.....

I actually agree with you Blue. Though, Morné was well rounded, and he did it with and without Du Preez! 9 is the QB of the halfbacks, not the 10. That said, he is a connector and the total functionality of back line attack rests on your centres who everything revolves around. For SA, 9 is very important, especially kicking off 9. Unfortunately we don't have any good passing 9s, all of them have very short passes that aren't reliably of good quality. 

Hey bluebok, long time! Judging by the time of your posting you're now in Canada or the USA?

My choice would have to go to the front row ... in particular at hooker.

The set piece is still a vital part of the game and he's involved in both. Finding his jumpers ... challenging for a tighthead in the scrum ... securing his own ball ... getting go forward through power scrumming ... assisting either prop in dominating his opponent ... contributing to a right shoulder ... turning opposition ball over at the breakdown ... his contribution in the tight loose ... linking with his backs ... and scoring tries from the back of the maul.

We've all seen the value of a top hooker ... I cannot think of anyone more important.

I will however insist that he clocks the 100 in under 30 seconds ... and if he can do all that, I'll probably make him my captain.

So Redneck ... there's hope after all.

Bluebok is right.

The key to the greatest rugby side ever was Gareth Edwards of the 1974 British/Irish Lions side.

No player has stood out as quite the key instrument to that phenomenal side as him.

There's been nobody to challenge him, except perhaps Joost but this a complete model of a game changer, fulfilling the role of no 9 to perfection.

https://youtu.be/uoaYjfg12N8

Du Preez is the most complete 9 of all time. No 9 had a better pass or kick. Joost was Brett Favre, Du Preez was Tom Brady. Nuff said. 

Unfortunately most of you younger chaps, never saw him. Du Preez was technically good but Edwards was another class, just so perfect and creative.

No scrumhalf has been as creative.

Ireland? What made you decide on Ireland?

Do you have family there?

EU passport CC. Path of least resistance, and English speaking country.   

du Preez was a good all round 9 but no patch on Joost, the best 9 to ever play the game 

I liked Joost, but FDP was on a different level, much more crucial to our cause than any other player...but these kind of arguments are highly subjective.

I liken Joost to Brett Favre because neither one were the most technically proficient players in their position, but they were very strong willed and had an element of luck about them that made them successful. Joost could chip into a cluster of players and be the man who fielded the ball nine out of ten times. In like manner, Brett would throw into triple coverage and score a touchdown, he went for the home run bullet on every play. Joost just had that presence, in my SARugby Magazine for the 99 World Cup, I believe it was Markgraff who said that he would select a 60% fit Joost because he made everyone better. I think of Joost as top 3 at 9. 

Du Preez is Tom Brady, both highly successful and with surgical precision. He could pass the width of the field with an absolute bullet time after time and kick with pin-point accuracy. His snipes were legendary and his courageous defence far too unappreciated. He had no weakness to his game. He was the general. Calm and authoritative, never causing a ripple with ego, just getting on with the task at hand. He amplified the potency of every team he featured in. He was several phases ahead of every other player. A very smart and humble man. 

I understand the love for older players in the past. But, their era was nothing to that of what Du Preez faced. I don't mean that disrespectfully, it's just the reality of the matter. Du Preez remained at the top of the food chain through several drastic changes in the game. He is a true legend and rightfully the greatest 9 of all time. 

I think Omlet should stick to Yankball . . . because he knows nothing about rugby.