Quote: StuMain "He's 22, just come to a new club, different country, it was bounded to take him some time to settle. TM has played it right introducing him gently from the bench.'"
I've been quietly annoyed at a lot of Cas fans for being quick to jump on his back. I wouldn't mind, but he hasn't even had a bad game. He's made one or two wrong choices during games, but he's made no mistakes, done his fair share of tackling, (and he can hit hard too) and done ok, the game against Hull was his best so far, game 6 of a new life in a new country with a new club and new team mates.
I think some people need to think a bit more on the position of stand off and what is expected. I will admit, that many teams nowadays have a scrum half and stand off and there's not much between them. They often play a similar game with each taking charge of one side of the pitch. A traditional stand off is usually the guy (like Rangi) who attacks the line on his own, looking for the gaps or even creating them for himself with an elusive side step or in Rangis case on friday, just never ever stopping and letting himself be tackle twisting and turning ducking and diving etc.
Rangi already seems to have been labeled "greedy" which is what many stand offs are. Shifty runs toward the line and then throws a pass which takes out the defence and puts someone through, or puts the kick in or even just grabs the ball and starts the attack in a specific direction (doesn't always have to be the killer ball, just spotting the weakness and sending the ball that way). Rangi often takes on the line himself, as a stand off should do, and holds on to the ball as he tries to brake the defence. Ok, from a nice seat in the ground or high vantage point on the terrace it's plainly obvious sometimes that the ball should go and the guy out wide can score a certain try, but when you're in the middle of the park it's not so easy.
I'm happy with Rangi so far and can see that he has potential to become a cracking player for us. I spoke to a friend about him at the Salford game and said i expected Matterson to ease Rangi in gently (ooh eerr! ) over the next half a dozen games and gently tell Faumuina he wants him in the second row. It seems that's happening already and Rangi, Cas and us fans will see the benefit of this.