Quote: Offy "see Ive always thought we get the best out of Houghton when he is on the field for 80mins. He gets a feel for the game, spots weaknesses in defences and starts to run the game and gets us going forward'"
disagree, we lose our zipp around the ruck, his passing gets worse as he gets tired and by definition he loses the edge to make those gaps. Having an interchange as we did with Heremaia brought us far more impetuous on the field than with a flagging Houghton without a shadow of doubt, everyone could see the difference.
I've said it before I'd rather have Rankin on the bench as an interchange 9 if nothing else, he can cover FB/HB and probably centre too if need be and he has pace, a very decent passing game and always gives his all.
