Springboks vs Wallabies @ Newlands 27/9/2014

[Scrubber2050]

Blue, seeing him in person he certainly isn't a fat lard. He looks a lot slimmer when you meet him off the pitch. But you can't be an effective lock at 135+kg. If Skelton slims down to 125kg he would still be probably the biggest lock in 1st tier international rugby.

A lot of what makes Skelton different is his size. Bring him down to 125 and he would only be a little bigger than the others. Whether he could do that would be interesting. Obviously the bloke puts on weight walking past Woolies (touching 150 kegs last week)

 

[Sully]

I don't think Skelton looks overweight. He doesn't need to be great at lineout jumping but he does need to be an option.

 

[Train Without a Station]

A lot of what makes Skelton different is his size. Bring him down to 125 and he would only be a little bigger than the others. Whether he could do that would be interesting. Obviously the bloke puts on weight walking past Woolies (touching 150 kegs last week)

If Will needs to be 10-15+kg bigger than others to be effective, he isn't good enough to be a test rugby player.

Where did you hear 150kg? That's what he was quoted at before last pre-season.

 

[cyclopath]

A lot of what makes Skelton different is his size. Bring him down to 125 and he would only be a little bigger than the others. Whether he could do that would be interesting. Obviously the bloke puts on weight walking past Woolies (touching 150 kegs last week)

Source?

 

[Scrubber2050]

A player down south

 

[Braveheart81]

He has a huge frame. It would be silly to think that he's only going to be a couple of kg heavier than a guy a couple of centimetres shorter than him when he gets to his correct weight.

Is Kane Douglas 5kg overweight because he's only a centimetre or two taller than Rob Simmons but about 8kg heavier? I don't think so. They've just got slightly different physiques.

Cheika showed this year what an asset Skelton can be to a matchday 23 at Super Rugby level. He can certainly continue improving but it's just inaccurate to suggest he's not at a level where he can contribute to a very good Super Rugby side now.

He's then shown he can do that in the test arena against France in his debut. It seems clear that his form is down on where it was earlier in the year but I certainly think we'll see plenty more of Skelton for the Wallabies. I expect he'll be the fourth lock on the EOYT and he'll probably be part of our RWC squad.

 

[Blue]

I don't think Skelton looks overweight. He doesn't need to be great at lineout jumping but he does need to be an option.

I think it's has to be more than just an option.

The dominant line outs of the last decade have had real effective options at 2. The 4 jumper and caller can dominate but the opposition is kept guessing because 2 is as good an option as 4 and 6/7. This is part of the reason Matfield was so good and is exactly the reason why the AB lineout is so good right now. Retallick / W'loc / Read / McCaw. Where is it going? You guess and they all pinch it lots of times.

Same applies to defense. If the 2 is a real menace it screws with the oppos hooker's head a lot more than if only the 4 is a regular pincher.

I don't believe any lock in the modern game can get away without being really effective in the lineout. It's core to the job.

In my book it's almost the same as saying your 12 has to be good at straightening the line but offloading is an option. You know he is going to crash it up all day. Too easy to defend.

 

[fatprop]

Skelton is in first first year of pro rugby, he will learn what he needs to do to meet that standard or he will fall by the wayside.

He will need to excel at what he does do well because like Timani before him he isn't that "all rounder" lock.

 

[KOB1987]

and maybe that's why he has been left out, because his ineffectiveness in the line-out isn't balanced out by someone else in the pack that is a kick-ass lineout jumper..McCalman, Palu and Fardy are only just at test level and in any case are better served at the back of the lineout..so maybe that's a case to groom someone like Luke Jones up as a 6 or 8 if it's seen than Skelton is there for the long haul..

 

[Train Without a Station]

I'm confident he's not there because his output on the ground isn't good enough at the moment. Probably due to the fact that he's not as fit as he needs to be.

It will improve.

 

[Braveheart81]

Skelton is in first first year of pro rugby, he will learn what he needs to do to meet that standard or he will fall by the wayside.

Surely he's already done this and should continue to do this.

His form has clearly dropped off a bit at the end of the season and it seems he's being used very poorly in the NRC which isn't helping the situation.

That doesn't change what he did in the rest of the season though. His rate of development has been exceptional.

 

[KOB1987]

Whatever the reason(s) he is surely next year's story and unless he gets the shites and pisses off to Europe or Japan we will be talking about him in a positive light for years to come..

 

[Braveheart81]

and maybe that's why he has been left out, because his ineffectiveness in the line-out isn't balanced out by someone else in the pack that is a kick-ass lineout jumper..McCalman, Palu and Fardy are only just at test level and in any case are better served at the back of the lineout..so maybe that's a case to groom someone like Luke Jones up as a 6 or 8 if it's seen than Skelton is there for the long haul..

I'm confident he's not there because his output on the ground isn't good enough at the moment. Probably due to the fact that he's not as fit as he needs to be.

It will improve.

28 is a small squad to tour with even for a two game tour. My guess is Link decided he'd save on a couple of spots because he wasn't planning on using certain players that would have otherwise gone (such as Skelton).

If one of our locks gets injured against South Africa I'm almost certain Skelton will be the one who joins the tour. I also don't think his place in the pecking order has changed and he'll be the fourth lock on the End of Year Tour.

 

[Train Without a Station]

It seemed like he was 3rd choice for a while there. I'd be doubtful if anybody other than Will is the next cab off the rank though.

 

[BDA]

Did Link say anything that we don't already know?! Skelton is still Green, he needs to improve his set-piece and conditioning to be a regular selection at test level. This is a guy who only played a handful of games for the Tahs last year, and some were talking about him as a possible inclusion on the EOYT. He's ahead of schedule in that regard, but he does need a lot of fine tuning. His set piece work is poor but that is something that he will improve at over the next 12 months. His conditioning this season was better than last season but he still has a way to go. I think he should try to cut 5kg in the off season if possible. At about 130-135 kg he should be able to handle the pace of the wallabies game much better.

I like that Link has a clear idea of what he wants from his forward pack (the ability to play an up-tempo game.

I expect we'll see Skelton on the EOYT.

 

[Train Without a Station]

Just for note, our best line out lock Rob Simmons certainly wasn't as good 3-4 years ago and wasn't as strong in the scrum either.

 

[Sully]

It does my head in when people say nice things about Simmons.
Stop it.

 

[BDA]

Link is bang on that Skelton will benefit a lot more from playing a bunch of 80 minute games in the NRC over the next few weeks than he will sitting on the bench/stands on tour. I suspect Link plans on using him on the EOYT and probably wants Skelton to get a much game time as possible before then.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

It does my head in when people say nice things about Simmons.
Stop it.

What a nice young boy he is.

Such a nice boy.

Tall for his age too.

And so kind to strangers.

No idea what he's like off the rugby field though HAHAHA

 

[boyo]

I won't bore everybody by going on about mundane topics like lineouts, but let us hope that the Great Cheika can turn this chap into a proper second rower. Either that, or make a good decision as to which position he is best suited for, that might indeed be 8.

He's not going to be a lock if other players struggle to lift him.

Why can't he be a No.8, seeing as Palu is getting old and is often broken, and Higginbotham can be a penalty-magnet?