Key Player for Your Country at the W.C.

[theonlychubbychild]

Yes but Sexton is a better player and he wasn't given time to settle into the tournament because ROG was coming on for him at about 55-60 minutes every game, then in the England match where he was probably told before the game that as long as he didn't f*** up completely he'd get 75-80 minutes and look what happened then.

We don't know that. For all we know they could have just been playing rebel songs in the changing rooms.

Yes, sexton is a better player but he is nowhere near O'gara's kicking level. Magners final, i've never in my life scene a professional rugby player screw up a kick like that first penalty Sexton took.

 

[Feicarsinn]

We don't know that. For all we know they could have just been playing rebel songs in the changing rooms.

Yes, sexton is a better player but he is nowhere near O'gara's kicking level. Magners final, i've never in my life scene a professional rugby player screw up a kick like that first penalty Sexton took.

Primarily because that doesn't make any sense.

 

[Easdon]

I'd say it's a bit of a toss up - if Chris Paterson steps up and is good enough to start then he can take goalkicking duties which are always crucial in a Scottish win. This means that Parks isn't such a necessity and Jackson could play, in which case he would have to be sensational in his style of play to galvanise the back line so, in that respect, both of them are crucial.

Having said that, Max Evans is absolutely world class on his day and even though he's pretty small if he's got his stepping boots on then he's gonna make a lot of breaks. Similarly, Richie Gray has the power to make line breaks, dominate line-outs and add real power in dead ball situations. Unfortunately, this doesn't so much make me feel relieved so much, more anxious at the fact that everyone has to bring their A game in order to even get out of the pools.

Simple answer - for me it's Evans.

 

[theonlychubbychild]

Primarily because that doesn't make any sense.

I do apologise. I try to make it a rarer occurrence as possible but we all slip up.

 

[molloyjh]

Wrong. Kidney did that because sexton was making a fool of himself, and loosing the game for us. In all instances, he brought O'gara on because O'gara is a tactical kicker. yeah, sure he can't tackle to save his life and he never runs with the ball, but when Sexton's boyishness tripped him up, O'gara came on a kicked us some points and saved us the game.

I think O'Kidneys selections really do affect the answer to this question. Take the above quote for example. People saw Sexton under-perform for a couple of games and immediately got on his back over it, when in fact the key wasn't Sexton. It was O'Leary. O'Leary is our slowest distributor of the ball and was paired with Sexton for, apparently, an expansive running game. Slow distribution to an out-half in that kind of game plan is bloody suicide. In this case our key player was O'Leary for all the wrong reasons.

Now I'm not getting on O'Learys back. He's very good at a number of things and great in certain situations, but he doesn't suit that kind of game plan with that kind of out-half. You need to get your half-back pairing right. And when Sexton finally saw some decent game time with someone who provided quicker ball (and knew him better), i.e. Reddan, we all saw what happened. Sexton produced a fantastic display against England.

For Ireland our key player should be O'Brien. Given the carries he can make and his defensive efforts he is a serious game changer. Unfortunately my concern with Ireland is that our key player will be someone else entirely for all the wrong reasons (TOL at scrum-half, Fitzy at FB or <shudders at the thought> Paddy Wallace pretty much anywhere).

 

[superprop]

I think O'Kidneys selections really do affect the answer to this question. Take the above quote for example. People saw Sexton under-perform for a couple of games and immediately got on his back over it, when in fact the key wasn't Sexton. It was O'Leary. O'Leary is our slowest distributor of the ball and was paired with Sexton for, apparently, an expansive running game. Slow distribution to an out-half in that kind of game plan is bloody suicide. In this case our key player was O'Leary for all the wrong reasons.

Now I'm not getting on O'Learys back. He's very good at a number of things and great in certain situations, but he doesn't suit that kind of game plan with that kind of out-half. You need to get your half-back pairing right. And when Sexton finally saw some decent game time with someone who provided quicker ball (and knew him better), i.e. Reddan, we all saw what happened. Sexton produced a fantastic display against England.

For Ireland our key player should be O'Brien. Given the carries he can make and his defensive efforts he is a serious game changer. Unfortunately my concern with Ireland is that our key player will be someone else entirely for all the wrong reasons (TOL at scrum-half, Fitzy at FB or <SHUDDERS thought the at>Paddy Wallace pretty much anywhere).

Against Wales he had Stringer our best passer and Reddan vs Scotland. Sexton didn't play to his potential in either of those. Also thonlychubbychild are you talking about place kicking or out of hand. Either way you're wrong. In the H cup he had a success rate of around 90% and his out of hand is brilliant too.

 

[Ozzay]

Yes, sexton is a better player but he is nowhere near O'gara's kicking level. Magners final, i've never in my life scene a professional rugby player screw up a kick like that first penalty Sexton took.

Couldn't agree more, Ireland have a nice balance now, like Flood/Wilko and dare i say it, back in 2008 Hook/Jones.

 

[theonlychubbychild]

I was talking about all ball/foot contact really.

 

[molloyjh]

Against Wales he had Stringer our best passer and Reddan vs Scotland. Sexton didn't play to his potential in either of those. Also thonlychubbychild are you talking about place kicking or out of hand. Either way you're wrong. In the H cup he had a success rate of around 90% and his out of hand is brilliant too.

He played with Stringer for 30 mins against Wales having never really played with the guy before and most of that time Wales were in the ascedancy. Other than 2 poor kicks early on he actually played reasonably well after that. He was obviously given the game plan of kick for territory, and if you look at some of his touch finds they were very good. The last of which got us that field position for our last attack, which really should have resulted in a try.

As for the Scotland game he got all of 12 mins on the pitch, most of that while Scotland had the ball. You can hardly judge that performance.

 

[LPsoldier ZA]

Agree with Fourie du Preez for the Boks, but in order for him to have a key role...all will depend on what PdV will do with his front row dillemma of Beast, Bismarck and probably Jannie Du Plessis...and mixing those 3 blokes with our captain...John Smit. Not an easy job.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I prefer Steenkamp with the du Plessis brothers though. Will he be fit for the Tri Nations? I heard he broke his arm

 

[LPsoldier ZA]

Yeah, with Beast as impact player of the bench. He did indeed break his arm...it's been a while back and I know they said back then, that he would be ready for the RWC. Don't know about 3N, maybe the last 2 games in the comp...not sure.

 

[DorceOutSide]

the irish back 3 kidney is still messing around with them abit its vital that the three he selects are fit,strong,fast and able to tackle or else teams like australia and our probalae quarter final opponents south africa will put 20-30 points on us

 

[ella1985]

I'm afraid to do any forecats ai i do not believe anyone.

 

[Big Dunc]

For Ireland, Mike Ross is undoubtedly key. Take him out and Ireland have no platform. Sean O'Brien will get the plaudits because he'll smash it up in open play and because nobody down south knows him.

For SA, again it's undoubtedly FdP. Best SH in the world by a country mile. Never makes a wrong decision and dictates the play for them. Getting Juan Smith back fit (and Brussow if possible) would boost their chances no end too.

For Aus, Will Genia. Cooper gets all the plaudits for his goosesteps and ability to dazzle with ball in hand, but he has zero ability to kick out of hand - unless it's traight to the opposition back three. Genia makes him look even better than he is because he takes so much pressure off him. Cooper could be as much of a liability to Aus's chances as he is key to their attacking play.

For Eng and France, Youngs and Parra/Yachvili. Again players who dictate the play more than their 10s.

For NZ, undoubtedly Dan the man. Probably the only position where they have no strength in depth. Squeaky bum time for the ABs if he goes off and McAillister, Brett or Donald Duck is given the reins. What they wouldn't give to have Nick Evans back...

For the PN teams, it's undoubtedly a collective thing. If they have a set piece and can get a foothold then they are a match for most teams. Alas, this has 99% of the time proved to be their undoing.

Agree with the Wales poster re Jenkins and Jones. Get those two boys fit and the Wales scrum is as strong as any in the comp.

 

[04perryo]

Haskel!!!!!! if he plays well

 

[Peat]

Tom Palmer/Courtney Lawes.

 

[mikefoot1]

For Wales personally I think the most important players are; Sam Warbuton (has been awesome recently), Shane Williams (Just cause its Shane and its his final goodbye to his international career :'(), James Hook (Seems to be able to play the modern game better then Stephen Jones), And I'd like to say Ryan Jones (I think we need an experienced captain, Warbuton was good but needs more experience before a world cup)

 

[Falvey]

Sam Warburton. He has to fire or we will simply not compete with the southern hemisphere teams at ruck time.

 

[mrH]

Key player for south africa will not be a player but rather our coach. There is good cover for every position. The coach must choose the right combinations for the type of game we want to play. Our most important position is probably captain. Smit has done a lot for the team but its time for him to step down. The sharks play alot better without him. We still have a soft spot for Smitty but there are too many better players. Victor can lead with the help of J Smith, S Burger and other s15 captains. There is enough leadership to support him. Without Victor then we might have leadership issues.

Loosehead - G Steenkamp, B Mtawarira, CJ van der Linde, C Oosthuizen
Tighthead - BJ Botha, W Kruger, J Du Plessis, B Mujati, WP Nel
Hooker - B Du Plessis, A Strauss, D Fourie, C Ralepela, J Smit
Locks - B Botha, D Russouw Flip van der Merwe, W van Heerden
Locks - V Matfield, A Bekker, Franco van der merve, A Hargreaves
Blindside - J Smith, S Burger, W Alberts, J Deysel, D Potgieter
Openside - H Brussouw, F Louw, L Watson, K Daniels, D Minnie
Eight - D Vermuelen, A Johnson, R Kankowski, P Spies, J Strauss

Scrumhalf - F Du Preez, R Pienaar, S Pretorius, F Hougaard, D Duvenage
Flyhalf - M Steyn, P Grant, S Ebersohn, E Jantjies,
Inside Center - J de Villiers, B James, J de Jongh, D le Grange
Outside Center - J Fourie, W Olivier, R Ebersohn, W Murry
Wings - JP Pieterson, B Habanna, B Basson, L Mvovo, G Aplon, G van der Heerver, R Smit, B Russell
Fullback - P Lambie, F Steyn, J Taute, Joe Pieterson, R Viljoen

A large number of the players can play in multiple positions. The biggest problem for us is that we have only one in form wing with experience, the others still need to be tested. There are other options but these are my favourite. At times it may even be to our benefit to lose our first choice players as some of the second choice players are in form at the moment and may even be better. Look at the last world cup where we lost J de Villiers and Frans Steyn performed well.
We can afford to lose F du Preez or even V Matfield.
Our flyhalf choice depends on the game we want to play, therefore only M Steyn will go to the world cup as there is cover from P Lambie, B James and R Pienaar. Which is a pity as Grant should be there as well. We also need to sort out our scrum especially tight head.