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A new GIANT winger for Waratahs: Taqele Naiyaravaro (MASS)
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<blockquote data-quote="Darwin" data-source="post: 642523" data-attributes="member: 24910"><p>It's not that simple though is it. If it was the rugby world would be full of 120kg+ wings......</p><p></p><p>In basketball you often hear coaches state: "you can't teach height". While this is undeniably true, size is certainly not the only attribute that you can't "teach". No amount of gym work is going to make Cory Jane as big and strong as this guy, but likewise no amount of training is going to give this kid the Cory Janes ability under the high ball and ability to read the game. Just as going to the gym will improve Jane's size and strength, training will improve Naiyaravaro's ability under the high ball and ability to read the game, but there is a limit to how good he will get in these areas.</p><p></p><p>There seems to be an assumption that with training you can turn any big fast guy into a quality rugby player. That is far from the case. I guess my point is that size alone isn't a great indicator of whether someone has the potential to be a good rugby player - it certainly helps, but you need other things too (things that you may not necessarily ever possess no matter how much training you do). Obviously size (and speed to some degree) are easy for the average punter to assess (and get excited about), but most rugby coaches will tell you that there are many other attributes that they consider to be far more important...</p><p></p><p>When assessing rugby players I ask a simple question: are they good rugby players. Obviously I haven't seen too much of Naiyaravaro, but based on the fact he can't crack the NRL it would suggest to me he isn't a very good league player! Watching a few highlights of him on youtube haven't convinced me he is going to be a quality Rugby Union player either - they basically consist of him hitting the ball up like a front-rower, and he seems to lack any acceleration (a key attribute for a win in Union). If we were talking about a giant young Union wing who was carving it up at lower levels I think people would have every right to be excited about his prospect. However that is not the case. I do hope I'm proved wrong and Naiyaravaro proves to be a success in Union (as I don't want to be wishing failure on anyone!), I just don't think people should be getting overly excited about him <em>based solely</em> on his size. If however he starts performing on the field I no reason not to get excited!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Darwin, post: 642523, member: 24910"] It's not that simple though is it. If it was the rugby world would be full of 120kg+ wings...... In basketball you often hear coaches state: "you can't teach height". While this is undeniably true, size is certainly not the only attribute that you can't "teach". No amount of gym work is going to make Cory Jane as big and strong as this guy, but likewise no amount of training is going to give this kid the Cory Janes ability under the high ball and ability to read the game. Just as going to the gym will improve Jane's size and strength, training will improve Naiyaravaro's ability under the high ball and ability to read the game, but there is a limit to how good he will get in these areas. There seems to be an assumption that with training you can turn any big fast guy into a quality rugby player. That is far from the case. I guess my point is that size alone isn't a great indicator of whether someone has the potential to be a good rugby player - it certainly helps, but you need other things too (things that you may not necessarily ever possess no matter how much training you do). Obviously size (and speed to some degree) are easy for the average punter to assess (and get excited about), but most rugby coaches will tell you that there are many other attributes that they consider to be far more important... When assessing rugby players I ask a simple question: are they good rugby players. Obviously I haven't seen too much of Naiyaravaro, but based on the fact he can't crack the NRL it would suggest to me he isn't a very good league player! Watching a few highlights of him on youtube haven't convinced me he is going to be a quality Rugby Union player either - they basically consist of him hitting the ball up like a front-rower, and he seems to lack any acceleration (a key attribute for a win in Union). If we were talking about a giant young Union wing who was carving it up at lower levels I think people would have every right to be excited about his prospect. However that is not the case. I do hope I'm proved wrong and Naiyaravaro proves to be a success in Union (as I don't want to be wishing failure on anyone!), I just don't think people should be getting overly excited about him [I]based solely[/I] on his size. If however he starts performing on the field I no reason not to get excited! [/QUOTE]
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A new GIANT winger for Waratahs: Taqele Naiyaravaro (MASS)
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