I just cant work out why Craig Hall is [iso[/i highly rated. I just cant. I want to but I cant.

I go regularly (season ticket holder off and on since 85), I read many posts about him and have had many discussions at work with mates about him and I still cant see it.

Thats not to say I havent seen glimpses of real class and sheer quality at times, his try from the scrum against Quins this season was as exciting a flash of brilliance as we have seen all year and his try scoring rate is decent (maybe more then decent actually) but is he [ithat[/i good that we should overlook the glaring problems in his game (defence). As his flashes of brilliance are at best infrequent.

I havent played Rugby to anything like as a high a standard as some of the posters on here nor do I claim to have the tactical insight into the game that many on here appear to have but I do know as a fan that I panic whenever he is being ran at or an opposing side so much as veers in the direction of the flank he is defending at.

He is still fairly young but I havent seen any form of improvement in the weaker parts of his game and whilst this may be an opportunity, rightly in part, to criticise the coaches I also feel that the player himself has to seek to improve the areas of his game that need addressing the most.

I should finish in saying that as negative as this post is, i really want him to come on and be the player that many of my mates and posters on here beleive he could be but at the moment, well, I just dont get what the big deal is with him. All IMO of course.

That's how I feel exactly my mate raves over him but don't see what's to rave over

With ball in hand Craig Hall is a very good player, comfortable running style with a fair turn of pace. He can cut through a defence like a knife through butter. Unfortunately without the ball he looks lost. A teams defence is only as strong as its weakest link, opposition teams are well aware of ours.

This...


And his try return per game played. In a team that has had a succession of 'safe' players at centre for years, and who have struggled to score tries for two seasons, these two attributes make him an exciting player for those who cherish attacking play and flair.

Unfortunately his defensive frailties continue to be an issue that limits his net worth. Some think it's worth persevering with him, others don't. That's it in a nutshell - the rest is the usual heat and light that surrounds any disagreement on here.

For me this more or less sums up the whole Hall thing. In a time of reducing quota places and financial hardship a player like Craig Hall is a valuable asset...... if he is used correctly. Hall has never looked as comfortable as he does at left centre. His attacking flair comes to the fore when he plays there. Defensively he has looked a lot stronger this year to me. What the lad needs is a fair run in his best position and a coaching team who knows how to ensure he is supported defensively. If we don't another club will. Have no doubt about that!

craig hall should have a good run in his true position of left centre, sick of seein him played out of position and then slated on here. He is one of our most potent strike options in the flanks imo. I agree his defensive play lets him down but a team should relaise and play to its own strength and weaknesses and the other 12 on the pitch should be ready to cover,slide to a weak area. To leave hall out limits our speed and strike out in the centres where options are limited. Until a time when briscoe grows into the strong runnin centre we know he is suppose to be and lynn and tuffour develop into regular first team wing men and with the decreasin pool of oz imports and limited stock of non quota talent avialable next year , craig hall imo is the most potent attack non quota centre option we have and should be used properly and his weaknesses aided

Todays "nail on the head" award goes to >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Problem is, he always plays out of position... because he can't stay in his defensive line to save his life. That's what he needs to sort out - his attacking work is much better as he isn't throwing away as much cheap ball and his tackiling is much improved. However, he must stop going for interceptions at every opportunity - everyone knows he's going to do it so one quick pass and he's stranded along with the other players in his line.

I noticed that Whiting was doing similar, and Welham does it regularly. Yeaman used to do it a lot, although maybe not so much this season. I'm beginning to wonder if there are some instructions from the coach involved. If so, I'd say it's time to change the plan because it isn't working.

The only time I've really noticed Whiting doing it is if we're short handed and it's a choice between that and conceding a try.

Agar - Coaching so bad he's ruining players at other clubs!

The coach involved meant the coach involved with each player. Lazy phrasing, possibly.

May be nothing to it but I just thought I'd noticed a slight trend towards centres doing that at a few clubs, and Welham is supposed to have claimed it was an instruction from Morgan. Just wondered if they'd been told to do it if there was an overlap and just make bad decisions a lot.

He has done it at other times. He benefits from being a lot better at it than most and frequently at least getting to the ball. Remember when he used to make interceptions on a regular basis? If our support had been alive to the chance we could have had a string of tries from it.

Same problem with Richie Barnett snr (shooting out of the line), only it was the opposing centre who had the problem.

He's had a couple of successful ones this season, I think. Didn't score from them either. He does shoot the line sometimes without going for an interception, but nearly always makes the tackle.