2013 British and Irish Lions

[ratsapprentice]

When I think about Cuthbert and North, I always think that North could play international rugby if he was 6ft/14st, Cuthbert couldn't.

Cuthbert wouldn't be anywhere near as effective as he is for Wales if the rest of the Welsh backline wasn't so enormous.
While they aren't bosh merchants, over the course of a match having to tackle guys that size will tire any team out, that's why it sometimes seems that Wales have an edge on fitness, because if the other team doesn't retain possession then they will be knackered from having to stop guys that size for so long.

 

[RugbyKing]

I saw that guy, Cuthbert, in the 6n. Probably fastest man in rugby over the world, dont you think? Never seen a person run like him before, but I am new to the sport, so hey
Why would he definately not be in a lions team? He could be in mine maybe. He is quite a genius (almost) to get 2 trys vs. England. Nobody else would do the same, so he is great.

 

[dullonien]

Once again Cuthbert is being underestimated by some I feel. Cuthbert doesn't rely solely on his size, far from it in fact. Most of the tries he scores are due to his exceptional running lines and his out and out pace, where barely a hand is placed on him. He can smash is way through as well, but this isn't his first instinct. Look back at his try's this 6 nations, they were try's he could have scored if he were 6ft/14st quite easily. He's been on-form now for about 18months, so maybe this is just the level he plays at? Time will tell if teams will figure him out and stop him playing, but there's little evidence to suggest that yet.

Yes he's got flaws, quite big ones, especially his defence, but if he works on these he'll be here to stay. There was evidence that his defence improved drastically during the 6 nations, and his defensive display against England was top notch with some great covering tackles (his pace comes in useful here). His positioning in defence when confronted with a 2-on-1 is his biggest problem, and this comes from a lack of experience from not playing rugby until relatively recently. Most international players have played since a young age, not taken up the sport when they were already adults.

Re Ashton. Saying I'd have him over Cuthbert if both were on top form is a little silly. The weaknesses in Ashton's game are more numerous to Cuthberts, and he creates very little himself, unlike Cuthbert. Ashton is simply incapable of tackling, whereas Cuthbert's issue is his positioning, although I do think he should be a better tackler for his size tbh. Again this should improve with experience I would hope.

I saw that guy, Cuthbert, in the 6n. Probably fastest man in rugby over the world, dont you think? Never seen a person run like him before, but I am new to the sport, so hey

Not quite, but he's deceptively quick, quicker than a lot give him credit for.

 

[Peat]

Tim Visser, Sean Maitland (Both of whom I don't want to play considering they couldn't understand the importance of the Lions not growing up in Britain or Ireland)

Riki Flutey woke up every 2 hours to get knee treatment in order to stay on the tour. I'm not particularly fond of international caps in general, nevermind Lions caps, going to the minimally qualified, but I have no fears of them misunderstanding the Lions.

In many ways Visser's arguably better qualified to represent the Lions than he is Scotland.

 

[Ospreylian]

Once again Cuthbert is being underestimated by some I feel. Cuthbert doesn't rely solely on his size, far from it in fact. Most of the tries he scores are due to his exceptional running lines and his out and out pace, where barely a hand is placed on him. He can smash is way through as well, but this isn't his first instinct. Look back at his try's this 6 nations, they were try's he could have scored if he were 6ft/14st quite easily. He's been on-form now for about 18months, so maybe this is just the level he plays at? Time will tell if teams will figure him out and stop him playing, but there's little evidence to suggest that yet.

Yeah I'd agree that Cuthbert is underrated tbh. In terms of attacking play, I think he is better than North at present. He isn't this one-dimensional giant who only knows how to smash his way through people. I think he has some great raw talent. Take a look at his try against France in the grand slam decider last year for example:



Cuthbert shows two lovely steps in this move to score the try, pretty much an individual move. If you skip to the end of the vid the replay shows it from a better angle.

His support play is excellent at the moment too, probably the best part of his game.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I'll concede that, dull. I worded that a bit weirdly, what I meant was that North is a very good footballer and athlete, whereas Cuthbert is just a very good athlete.
I'm not saying is a bad rugby player at all, he does look very awkward at times though.

 

[cyRil]

TRF_Olyy likes this.

 

[Draggs]

North goes for contact, Cuthbert goes for space.
Compare try records over the past 18 months for Wales.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Does Cuthbert have the ability to create tries like the one North set up for JD against Ireland last year?
I think George could be coached into doing stuff like that far more often than he does currently.

 

[Draggs]

Does Cuthbert have the ability to create tries like the one North set up for JD against Ireland last year?
I think George could be coached into doing stuff like that far more often than he does currently.

North was in midfield then. He has been brought in much more (the reason for the lack of tries, partially).
We play risk-free rugby, no offloads, etc. We are being coached out of it. North said as he put the pass in for Davies he thought Howley would kill him. We are boring, and the only players who scored a try for some semblance of a set-move was Cuthbert (Ireland, Italy) or from something spur of the moment (England x2) [North v France as well/Davies v Italy] otherwise they are short range forward moves or side-to-side movements. (Mitchell v Ireland, Hibbard v Scotland; Halfpenny v Ireland)

 

[ratsapprentice]

In a Lions context I think you want natural rugby brains though, something that Cuthbert is still developing, but I think George has.

 

[dullonien]

Imo, North is a better all round player, but Cuthbert is in better form and runs better angles.

 

[munstermuffin]

Riki Flutey woke up every 2 hours to get knee treatment in order to stay on the tour. I'm not particularly fond of international caps in general, nevermind Lions caps, going to the minimally qualified, but I have no fears of them misunderstanding the Lions.

In many ways Visser's arguably better qualified to represent the Lions than he is Scotland.

In fairness Peat they didn't get option it was part of pay packet. Earls had to do same with his shoulder on tour. There was a group of them and if your sent home you don't get full pay. But again I don't know if they fully understand it but they certainly don't see it as a laugh

 

[TRF_Olyy]

On form North is well better than Cuthbert.

Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk 2

 

[Draggs]

On form North is well better than Cuthbert.

Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk 2

What form? North hasn't had a consistent good form run for Wales ever. He has been patchy at best, but mostly hype.
I think he has potential, but he won't reach it in that Scarlets team outside that midfield.

 

[RugbyKing]

On form North is well better than Cuthbert.

This I will never ever be agreeing with. Ever. Haha. You have seen Cuthbert? Faster than the man Habana. I watch a video of Habana vs a cheetah and still Cuthbert can be better than him! He is a player I will love forever.

 

[Draggs]

This I will never ever be agreeing with. Ever. Haha. You have seen Cuthbert? Faster than the man Habana. I watch a video of Habana vs a cheetah and still Cuthbert can be better than him! He is a player I will love forever.

Not sure if...
I like Cuthbert too. He seemed to be one of the ones who was visibly shaken by our results last year. He is a very committed player who has shown that academies aren't the only way of producing players.

 

[Saint Matt]

On form North is well better than Cuthbert.Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk 2

I think the problem for both North and Cuthbert is consistency, and displaying consistent performances for a sustained period. They are both quality wingers when on form, but those days are few and far between.

The top players are consistent - it's as simple as that, and neither North or Cuthbert have displayed enough consistency as yet to be considered on that 'top bracket'

They are both exceptional talents though, no doubt about that.

 

[UlsterRugby2012]

I'm starting to worry about you. When did you start smoking crack? Edit: just jesting, but I'd definitely 'forget' to tell Ashton when the plane leaves for Aus if I was Gatland though.

You actually went and looked for that post.

I still don't rate Cuthbert at all - however after this 6N I'd have him over Ashton. Both of their defensive work is laughable.

 

[Thingimubob]

See the whole thing about Cuthbert's defensive frailness is a bit harsh if you ask me. He almost certainly has far more defensively sound games than he does bad ones. He was poor vs Ireland this year and last year, poor vs ABs. Was caught out of position once or twice against England, but apart from those he's been fine. Against England, I was really impressed with how he tracked back on a number of occasions and took down the likes of Brown and Tuilagi. In the tour to Aus he was very solid as well, but people seem to forget that. Of course he's still learning, but at least give him a bit of the credit that he's due.