Richie McCaw

[antipodean]

I was a big fan of Brussow until his injury. Pocock is a one trick pony, albeit one hell of a trick. He has unerring ability to be second into a tackle and pilfer the ball. His strength on his feet is exceptional. Brussow on the other hand could tackle and magically appear on his feet with the ball ala McCaw circa 05-07. McCaw stands above other opensides with his ability to add continuity. In open play he is like another number 8. His aerobic fitness is immense.

 

[cyclopath]

I was a big fan of Brussow until his injury. Pocock is a one trick pony, albeit one hell of a trick. He has unerring ability to be second into a tackle and pilfer the ball. His strength on his feet is exceptional. Brussow on the other hand could tackle and magically appear on his feet with the ball ala McCaw circa 05-07. McCaw stands above other opensides with his ability to add continuity. In open play he is like another number 8. His aerobic fitness is immense.

He must have several different ways of doing that trick, because I swear I have seen more to him than that...

 

[antipodean]

Such as?

 

[Braveheart.]

Threads on McCaw, Brussow and Pocock always degenerate into "x is better than y" or "x has a bigger d*ck than y"...

The fact remains McCaw is one of the true legends of the game and always will be.

 

[Braveheart.]

I was a big fan of Brussow until his injury. Pocock is a one trick pony, albeit one hell of a trick. He has unerring ability to be second into a tackle and pilfer the ball. His strength on his feet is exceptional. Brussow on the other hand could tackle and magically appear on his feet with the ball ala McCaw circa 05-07. McCaw stands above other opensides with his ability to add continuity. In open play he is like another number 8. His aerobic fitness is immense.

If there were a disagree button, I would have hit it 46 times.

 

[antipodean]

Well I must say I'm swayed by the powerful counterarguments.

 

[cyclopath]

Well I must say I'm swayed by the powerful counterarguments.

Sorry, was there a time limit on when I should reply to your brusque assessment of Pocock? I doubt you'll be swayed by anything, but if you watch Pocock closely you'll see he can tackle, remove the ball from the player he actually tackled, pilfer as the second payer, carry the ball and link with other players. More than 1 trick.
I don't want to get into a pissing competition about who's best, that's pointless. This is McCaw's thread, and he is a legend. All 3 of the mentioned players are fantastic in their slightly different ways.

 

[Braveheart.]

Well I must say I'm swayed by the powerful counterarguments.

Point point arguing, just sit back and enjoy.

[video]http://youtu.be/S_FexyKrjvg[/video]

 

[antipodean]

Sorry, was there a time limit on when I should reply to your brusque assessment of Pocock? I doubt you'll be swayed by anything, but if you watch Pocock closely you'll see he can tackle, remove the ball from the player he actually tackled, pilfer as the second payer, carry the ball and link with other players. More than 1 trick.

Sorry to have hurt your feelings. I wasn't denigrating Pocock, but apart from one thing which I praised him for, other flankers are better at other aspects of play.

 

[cyclopath]

Sorry to have hurt your feelings. I wasn't denigrating Pocock, but apart from one thing which I praised him for, other flankers are better at other aspects of play.

It's OK, you didn't hurt my feelings, but you seemed put out nobody had responded fast enough to you. Actually, by trivializing Pocock as a "one-trick pony", you are, in fact denigrating him. That's kind of the point of calling someone that. Arguing that others are better is your prerogative, I just disagree that he can only do one thing as compared to the globally equivalent McCaw or Brussouw.

 

[Mank]

I talked with a Test flanker a few years ago after he had just played in the Test backrow opposing McCaw and lost, and he was in awe of the NZ captain's freakish strength and engine. McCaw doesn't lift much weights at all; he prefers to put his time into functional strength and aerobic fitness and while he said McCaw really wasn't that big, he somehow possesses an unnatural core strength.

I was surprised when I first noticed McCaw's lack of muscle bulk compared to other loose forwards. I'd really like to know more about his training and strength because he plays like a monster. I enjoyed those videos, nice work. He's a legend.

 

[dobduff11]

Pocock is a freak. The best tackler I have ever seen bar none (Betsen comes close but Pocock is ridiculous).

He needs to replicate this form over the next few years to match Richie's legacy.

Mank: I agree with the muscle mass thing, quite often the elite athletes aren't even gym monkeys they just have a genetic advantage (and it shows). Quite a few of the UFC guys don't look that hench but are absolute freaks and are some of the quickest fighters around.

I think Cameron Smith is of a similar type to McCaw, not that big compared to the monsters of the NRL but still a cut above the rest

 

[MajorlyRagerly]

Pocock is a one trick pony,.

That is a bit rough.

It's like calling Jonny W a one trick pony on the back of his kicking - you can see how the theory can be come up with, but it's doing the player a complete disservice & showing a bit of ignorance towards the the player, and game, as a whole.

For me Pocock's not the best tackler I've seen, that mantle will always remain with Frank Bunce. But I am admittedly biased.

 

[Bullrush]

That is a bit rough.

It's like calling Jonny W a one trick pony on the back of his kicking - you can see how the theory can be come up with, but it's doing the player a complete disservice & showing a bit of ignorance towards the the player, and game, as a whole.

For me Pocock's not the best tackler I've seen, that mantle will always remain with Frank Bunce. But I am admittedly biased.

Ahhhhh.....Frank Bunce. Geez it was a loooooong time before we found another centre even close to his standard.

Top tacklers (or hitters maybe) for me: Brian Lima, Sam Tuitupou, Michael Jones.

 

[Scotty]

And Lima was still smashing forwards when he was 35 years old.

 

[antipodean]

It's OK, you didn't hurt my feelings, but you seemed put out nobody had responded fast enough to you. Actually, by trivializing Pocock as a "one-trick pony", you are, in fact denigrating him. That's kind of the point of calling someone that. Arguing that others are better is your prerogative, I just disagree that he can only do one thing as compared to the globally equivalent McCaw or Brussouw.

Actually no I wasn't 'put out nobody had responded fast enough'. There's a difference between saying you don't agree and offering a cogent argument why. That's what I pointed out. I didn't start the comparison.

That is a bit rough.

It's like calling Jonny W a one trick pony on the back of his kicking - you can see how the theory can be come up with, but it's doing the player a complete disservice & showing a bit of ignorance towards the the player, and game, as a whole.

cyclopath's and your inference is incorrect. I've clearly stated I'm not denigrating him, just saying he does one thing brilliantly.

 

[Richo]

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-one-trick-pony.htm

 

[Athilnaur]

That is a bit rough.

For me Pocock's not the best tackler I've seen, that mantle will always remain with Frank Bunce. But I am admittedly biased.

Mine also. Can't believe he started his AB career at 30.