not talking about Sharples in this instance, its kids that get cottoned wooled into PONI squads and dont have to fight for their positions (like Sharples has never had to) when we have kids who get placed into squads without working for it (like Sharples) we have situations like we did last night in the20's
You'd think these NSW kids would struggle when they play the other states.
The point is that they are clearly pretty close. There's been games where Sharples has looked much better and vice-versa. I would say that Martens has more upside but is also more error prone. Sharples is pretty stable.
If Sharples was so bad you'd expect the other NSW 9s, Brumbies 9s and Force 9s to be pushing him out of contention for the Wallabies under 20s. That very clearly isn't the case.
Italophile
Watty Friend (18)
Gruelling conditions, all of Italy is a blast furnace at the moment. The AB 10 vomited on pitch after a conversion. That said, Italy were good value, ABs lacked cohesion and their scrum was under pressure. One thing Italy can produce is big young lads who can scrummage.
Dan54
David Wilson (68)
Yep saw him vomit Italophile, was watching as he lined up conversion and he looked to be struggling then. Was surprised he stayed on after halftime to be honest.
its not a case of Brumbies/Force players being better, its the fact they've never had to work for their position. There is a kid Sam Howarth playing for Bond Uni in the Qld comp, offers far more than Sharples. The selectors will almost never opt for a kid that hasnt been on the pathway, if they do that its an admission that they've been wrong and they will never do that
I’m not attacking Sharples as such. I just think martens is an exceptional talent and looks to have gone past him.
The Ghost of Raelene
Rod McCall (65)
He's played next to no Rugby in two years due to injury.
Couple showing in 7s and then a couple games for 2nd Grade at Eastwood. He's probably played 5 games of 15s in 3 years.
How did Howarth go for Queensland in the under 19s last season?
I think he has been injury free since January this year unsure why the 7s program have not used him. Playing all of 2nd grade now and backing up for 1st and still injury free that's a great sign for him.
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
Sharples was easily outplayed by the Saffa No 9. Martens looked a lot sharper when he came on and I believe was clearly the better of the two during the last set of U20s games here. I don't think they are pretty close at all.
On your question about who would replace him, I don't have any idea. The only U20s games I see are those on tv. I have no idea about the quality of players at that age going around in the various capital city competitions but there are many on here who say there are better.
I don't disagree with your first point about this game. I do think they were fairly interchangeable through the Under 20 Rugby Championship.
My main point is that I don't think Sharples looks out of place at this level. We've seen 2-3 halfbacks for each of the 4 under 19s sides last season and Sharples clearly makes sense for selection for the under 20 Wallabies from that group.
There have been a bunch of posts over the last year or so declaring that he shouldn't even be selected for NSW and is only there because he was identified at a young age. That second part is true but likewise most of these players have been in the various pathways programs from a young age. That's how the pathways program works.
The most recent post in the matchday thread seems to indicate that Whitaker should have been looking for replacements for his squad in club rugby in May and June.
Ultimately it comes down to whether you spend your time and your budget trying to train your chosen squad to be better or whether you spend that time and budget to try and select the best possible squad each season and then hope they can work it out on the day.
Strewthcobber
Michael Lynagh (62)
This discussion around half backs feels slightly ridiculous when the outside backs missed 20 tackles, and let the opposition 14 and 15 carry for 346m with 5 linebreaks
Totally agree watching the game our fullback needs to work on his defence as well as he missed plenty. What about the coach? It looked like they had no game plan to manage the Saffas
The Cleaner
Darby Loudon (17)
Its a known fact that our #15 needs to work on his defense. Just watch him when he played in Tahs U19. That aside, mate he needs to beef up because he looked like a little boy playing in a men's game!
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
Also a boy in a man's game. As were the Nos 11, 12 and 15.