• Welcome to the Green and Gold Rugby forums. As you can see we've upgraded the forums to new software. Your old logon details should work, just click the 'Login' button in the top right.

Springboks vs Wallabies @ Newlands 27/9/2014

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Train Without a Station

Guest
I don't understand we he cannot be an 8. He plays more of that style of game than a lock really. He's just 2m tall so people say he has to be a lock.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
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?

Does Skelton have the speed and acceleration to be a number 8? He certainly doesn't have the motor at this stage.

I think a player who is over 2m tall and weighs over 130kg is always going to be a lock. It's just about working his skills and weaknesses around his teammates. To an extent we do this with every player.
 

fatprop

George Gregan (70)
Staff member
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.


We don't really know if he will continue to improve, we can can only hope

What we don't know is if his "poor" use in the NRC is because of the Stars game plan or instructions from Link (improve his crash ball then ball popping)

And if his fitness has waned and weight has increased then he needs to learn how to manage that. With his size he is going to have to because that issue isn't going to go away
 

Scrubber2050

Mark Ella (57)
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?

boyo - exactly right.

The bloke is just too big to be a SERIOUS lineout option at lock. He is pretty average at scrumtime and at that size will never be an absolute workhorse at rucks and mauls. HOWEVER he has some quality running skills, offloads and the ability to make dominant tackles, not because of his technique but pure size.

Reckon if he bypasses Woolies store, drops to 130-135, increases fitness he COULD be a fantastic 8 option sooner than most think.
 

fatprop

George Gregan (70)
Staff member
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?


he doesn't have the engine to play 8
 

Dctarget

John Eales (66)
Ewen has basically confirmed what most people on here are saying.

“We think it’s better if he plays full matches. If you look at the way we have been playing, we cover a lot of territory and that’s physically challenging,” McKenzie said.

“The cameo bit is good but we have players doing that who have different skills, too.

“He is a guy we like ... but he is still a young player, so he doesn’t tick every box. We have been working on various skills, and part of that is also match fitness, and getting time on the field. We’ve pretty much made a decision that the best thing for him at the moment is to play.”

Asked if he felt Skelton was carrying excess weight due to a lack of game time, McKenzie said he was “still growing”.

“He has a bigger challenge because he is just a massive guy. That’s a plus for us, but also, if you’re not playing football it makes it harder to maintain your match condition,” McKenzie said.

“We have to make sure we can control … and he has to learn to control his condition. His body is growing whether he likes it or not. We have to manage that.

“The game is aerobic. It needs skill, it needs power, it needs aerobic, it needs all of those things, so we have to manage players on and off the field.”

This came from foxsports


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Joeleee

Ted Fahey (11)
I'd say he already has a v8 engine, it's just his fuel ecobomy is shithouse

Unlike the two stroke motor of (insert your preference of: Michael Hooper, Scott Higginbotham, Sam Carter, other Wallaby player who apparently has "no impact" but is seen everywhere)
 

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
I don't think Will has the motor or the pace to play at eight. If he were ever to be a chance to play in that position he'd have to be substantially fitter than he is now. Look at the three best in the world right now: Vermuelen, Read and Parisse. They are all supreme athletes, as well as being powerful men.
 

S'UP

Bill Watson (15)
"It's a bit of a cycle. As you go along you explore the depths of your positions and at some point in time you recognise you can't keep going deeper and deeper. You have to invest in some experience," McKenzie said.
"I think we are a bit deeper in the hooking position and we brought Benn Robinson in last week to see where he's up to [and] we were pleased with what we saw. It's adding a bit of experience onto the front-row group, particularly around tactics."​
Does this mean Robbo will be playing hooker?
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
No, but it potentially means that McKenzie underestimated Robinson's conditioning and form a little when he previously overlooked him.

It definitely suggests that the lack of top line options at hooker has resulted in him recalling our most experienced prop. Maybe if Moore and TPN were both available McKenzie would have called up a new LHP such as Toby Smith or someone.
 

Hawko

Tony Shaw (54)
Exactly. Bakkies has always been an excellent jumper at 2. Most international jumpers at 2 will be totally useless at 4. They can getup and across quick with limited requirement for height. It's about speed and timing but you need some zip in your jump.

It's horses for courses. Skelton needs to be able to jump "aggresively" at 2 if you get my what I'm saying. The requires some explosiveness in the legs. Brad Thorn was great at this and Retalick is awesome (he should work at 4 as well - freak bastard hate the fucker he is so damn good).

Actually, Skelton will do good to take a leaf out of Flip vd Merwe's book. He was a big fat lumbering lump of lard when he first played for the Bulls but he worked hard and improved to such an extent that he took over the lineout calling and jumping at 4 for the Boks last year with great success. He has built endurance. May I point out that it took 3 to 4 years though. It can be done but requires enormous discipline and more time than people think. This is not a one off-season gig. He is 2 to three years away if you ask me.


I agree. Endurance improves with age just as you lose those lightning reflexes and top end speed. I think at 125kg and some more endurance and experience he will be a first pick for the Wallabies in two years time.
 

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
Exactly. Bakkies has always been an excellent jumper at 2. Most international jumpers at 2 will be totally useless at 4. They can getup and across quick with limited requirement for height. It's about speed and timing but you need some zip in your jump.

It's horses for courses. Skelton needs to be able to jump "aggresively" at 2 if you get my what I'm saying. The requires some explosiveness in the legs. Brad Thorn was great at this and Retalick is awesome (he should work at 4 as well - freak bastard hate the fucker he is so damn good).



Totally agree and I can speak to personal experience on the 2 vs 4 positioning. I was (I thought) a very effective jumper at 2 because of the ability to jump explosively (I was a sprinter as well as a rugby player), but absolutely rubbish at 4 or at the back, because I just couldn't get the timing right all the time. As a result I was too easy to mark further back. At the front though, I hardly ever lost a throw and stole a bunch of the oppositions pill.

Skelton, if he's to ever be an effective international lock, needs to jump in the lineout or at least provide an option and it probably needs to be at the front.
 

wamberal

Phil Kearns (64)
Anybody who wants to debate the likely evolution of second row play should have a look at the ITM Cup.


Exhibit 1: Blade Thomson. Tough, athletic, and supremely skilled,


Skelton should be sent to play in that competition. He might learn a lot.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Anybody who wants to debate the likely evolution of second row play should have a look at the ITM Cup.


Exhibit 1: Blade Thomson. Tough, athletic, and supremely skilled,


Skelton should be sent to play in that competition. He might learn a lot.

Skelton The Younger has been sent to the Chiefs. He needs to learn a lot.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top