I'm a bit ****** off a new thread was made about this. There is enough talk of SBW without every side thought involving him needing a new thread. It seems it's only a matter of time before we get threads like "What breakfast cereal is Sonny Bill?" or "Iz SBW best playa eva?". Not every side thought requires a new thread.
As it is, he should stick with 12. To be an All Black forward you have to be able to do more than just tackle. You have to have a huge work rate at the rucks, and that takes a lot of time to get right, especially for a player who's used to playing league (playing age grade is hardly the same as playing ITM Cup never mind the All Blacks. Should So'oialo be put as a fullback for the All Blacks or Nonu at hooker? They played those positions in age grade rugby). As for this "devistation" of him playing 8 and running off the back of the ruck, he's hardly been an outstanding tackle breaker. He's taken it to the line with a little bit of pace, and then consistantly offloaded. I still have no idea what people see in him, when they talk about him as "The next big thing" or "force of nature". Comparisons to Carter and McCaw are laughable. He's 6'4'' and 105kgs, which is big, but he has hardly used that frame in a way that warrents him being considered a decent line breaker. Both Lynn and Treeby, have broken the line more often, despite being considerably smaller.
He's looked talented, especially in his offloading, but to say he is over rated is being kind. To think he'd be able to make it into the All Blacks as a loose forward is obsurd, considering he'd have to be better than Kaino, McCaw, Vito, Thompson, Messam, Bourke, Braid, Lowe, Latimer, Waldrom etc, and achieve that level within a year.
