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Time: 09:35 CAT (SA, GMT+2)
biggest Ben Smith fan here, i was saying he should be playing for the AB's years before the rest of you....ALSO, biggest advocate for keeping him at fullback.....BUT!...and i know this wont happen....I'd love to see Mo'unga start and 10 and Beaudie at 15 with Smith at 14.
i dont feel bender is showing his age at all. his loss of speed is easily compensated by his intelligence. imo he is still the best FB in the world. hence why i dont want to move him.as i say, #1 Ben Smith fan here, but he's 32 so we do need to start looking at replacements and i thinking Beauden is better than his brother.
and as electric as Beauden is on a flat track with a dominant pack im still not sure ive seen him play a tactical kicking game in the mud getting back foot ball and his distribution feel slower than it should be, feels like he shines when he's making the break but i dont see him putting other people in space that often, have this horrible feeling when a team finally works out how to pressure him we're going to loose
He's already 24. Not that young really. If a northern club come calling i don't see why he would stay. There is no point in having him on the bench so he's not in your best 23.no way! then you'd have to drop ioane or naholo.
bender is the best fullback in the world at the moment.
beaudy is the best 1st5
why move either?
mounga is young and has time to adjust to test level. there is no rush, he has a long ABs career ahead of him. i am looking forward to him starting tho
well i imagine barrett would get bought up before mounga does. barrett would be a bigger loss .He's already 24. Not that young really. If a northern club come calling i don't see why he would stay. There is no point in having him on the bench so he's not in your best 23.
sure bender is still the best and will still be the best in the foreseeable immediate future that has the WC in sight. after that then we can worry about depth.i seems to be implying a lot more than im actually saying
agreed Smith is still number 1....but age and retirement is inevitable at some point
agreed Barrett is lethal at what he does well
I'm just curious to see if the 10. Mo'anga 15. Barrett combo could be even more lethal than the 10. Barrett 15.Smith combo and given that as much as we'd like Smith to play for ever, thats not going to happen so lets try it out.
well i imagine barrett would get bought up before mounga does. barrett would be a bigger loss .
sure bender is still the best and will still be the best in the foreseeable immediate future that has the WC in sight. after that then we can worry about depth.
at this stage we still have havili and dMac as viable FB replacements plus a whole bunch of others that can slot in there without having to move barrett
well i imagine barrett would get bought up before mounga does. barrett would be a bigger loss .
thats a huge generalisation . canes forwards just werent performing and hadnt been since before the june break. mounga had the best forward pack in superRugby.i think the point was bench warmers are easier to lure away than starters, if you can get Mo'unga to the point where he's contesting for a start then he's got a reason to stay and fight.
at the moment it kind of appears to me as if there are a couple of positions where no matter how good to play you'll never change the selector minds...so why stay?
my train of thought
we have the best player in the world (barrett)...but he's been outplayed in his position (by Mo'unga in the final - BIG generalisation i admit) and what he does so amazingly ISN'T strictly exclusively a first five skill set and he could do many of the same things from 15....so lets just check it out, Smith has nothing to prove so we don't NEED for him to keep proving it
not arguing with a single word of that. but nothing you've said is a reason NOT to try it, it cold be amazing
Nah because he's a starter for the ABs. He will stay. Its the squadies and below that get pinched (Piutau for example).well i imagine barrett would get bought up before mounga does. barrett would be a bigger loss .
Nah losing Mo'unga isnt the be all and end all. But what happens if Barrett tears an ACL and is out for 9 months and suddenly you are staring at a RWC with McKenzie as your starting 10. Great utility player, but doesnt have a shade on Mo'unga at 10. No Sopoaga or Cruden either.if mounga wants to go then let him. ABs will survive. they always have and always will . mounga wouldnt be the first to be lured away by big money and he wont be the last.
losing mounga isnt the be all and end all of AB rugby.
Would be good to see them shock the AB's lol.I think Argentina may make a game of this for 50-60 minutes but then the AB's will run away with it.