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973_1515165968.gif Last edited by Ferocious Aardvark on stardate Jun 26, 3013 11:27 am, edited 48,562,867,458,300,023 times in total:d7dc4b20b2c2dd7b76ac6eac29d5604e_973.gif |
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| The great attributes a winger can have are speed, bulk, a step, a jump, a rugby brain, and a rugby heart. You could add a good pair of hands, and you could add a good tackling technique.
Nobody can quite have them all, for example the bulkier a winger, the less he can effectively step or jump, due to the simply laws of physics. But if you have enough of some qualities, even if short in others, and IF you fit into your particular team (eg a not-great tackler but where there are others who can provide enough cover) then your abilities can still make you a stand-out player.
The way the modern game has been, I'd say Robinson was a bit of an exception, and that was due to his incredible abilities to step, coupled with pace including off the mark and over a long distance. A step, together with that rare thing, a rugby brain that could in an instant work out when and how to use it, bamboozling less-quick-witted opponents.
I think there is still an opening for the very best "nippy wingers", but in general I reckon a big, bulky speed merchant crashing through the cover defence into the corner is the modern trend, and when I say "modern" I include the likes of backs like Lomu, Meninga, Grothe et al. It's not that recent a thing.
What I would say is that there have been very, very few wingers in recent years with genuine, blistering speed. I wonder whether someone like Berwyn Jones would still fit in. You are talking about a man who could get the ball with a half-yard gap but get past every time through sheer, blinding pace. Neither Jonathan Davies nor Brian carney were as fast as Jones, but they both sort of illustrate my point as their pace scored many points that most players couldn't.
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Club Owner | 28186 | No Team Selected |
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Transparent Backgrounds/Waldorf.gif "As you travel through life don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things" - George Carlin
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| Grothe Snr was an absolute freak of nature - he was Jonah Lomu before anyone knew who Lomu was.
He could go over you or around you with equal comfort, and once he hit clear space you weren't going to catch him.
It was an absolute privilege to see him (albeit briefly) in the flesh playing for Leeds.
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International Star | 718 | No Team Selected |
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Quote: Andy Gilder "Grothe Snr was an absolute freak of nature - he was Jonah Lomu before anyone knew who Lomu was.
He could go over you or around you with equal comfort, and once he hit clear space you weren't going to catch him.
It was an absolute privilege to see him (albeit briefly) in the flesh playing for Leeds.'"
I have been lucky enough to see "The Guru" live more than a few times and he was one of a handful of players that set the Crowd alight and to their feet when ever he touched the ball.
Great player that wound through the gears like a thoroughbred, the power and energy he had was unbelievable.
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... _6loPG0TCw
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Quote: Andy Gilder "Grothe Snr was an absolute freak of nature - he was Jonah Lomu before anyone knew who Lomu was.
He could go over you or around you with equal comfort, and once he hit clear space you weren't going to catch him.
It was an absolute privilege to see him (albeit briefly) in the flesh playing for Leeds.'"
I have been lucky enough to see "The Guru" live more than a few times and he was one of a handful of players that set the Crowd alight and to their feet when ever he touched the ball.
Great player that wound through the gears like a thoroughbred, the power and energy he had was unbelievable.
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... _6loPG0TCw
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