Sonny Bill Williams News + Progress in ITM Cup

[ranger]

I so hope they try out the SBW and Fruen combo in the EOTY Tour... The biggest midfield in world rugby destroying the NH teams

I was saying to my mates that I hope Nonu and Smith get injured so SBW and Fruen can be the new AB's midfield combo... Alot of people are going to hate me for saying that, but I think that's the only way they will be able to start together, since the Smith and Nonu combo is well established now, it will be hard to topple them from their perch...

Thats because the Smith-Nonu combo is awesome. I would rather SBW and Fruean dominate to the extent that they earn their place in the top lineup than we lose our best midfield to injury.. it seems silly.
Im very comfortable with the prospect of SBW and Fruean slaughtering in the pool games at the world cup to draw crowds, and then Nonu and Smith taking over to finish the job in the finals.

I also hope people aren't forgetting about Rene Ranger for the midfield, he has the strong running game of Fruean with the passing and offloading game of SBW. He is the only one in NZ that can match Williams in his offloading ability.

 

[Sam Owen]

Smith and Nonu have the more experience but the Fruean/Williams combo is just exciting. I agree with you Ninja I wouldnt mind seeing Fruean/Williams in the EOYT more so Fruean as he deserves it.

Yeah our forum brothers might have a crack at us but hey, Fruean/Williams are playing well at the moment.

Maybe we should call them the twin towers cos they're both tall and big like Jean De Villiers.

 

[Iron Mike]

Fruean is making Sonny seem pretty awesome though, he is always there for the offload and always catches them. Fruean, I would even go as far as saying is the best 13 in New Zealand, which is hard for me to say as I have a great deal of respect for Conrad Smith.

Plus he is only 22.

They should try out Sonny / Fruean against Scotland, that would be the ultimate test, with Toeava on the bench to come on as cover for them if it ends up to be a bomb.

Not the ultimate test, but you can't really put them against France when they have zero experience.

 

[Sam Owen]

Fruean is making Sonny seem pretty awesome though, he is always there for the offload and always catches them. Fruean, I would even go as far as saying is the best 13 in New Zealand, which is hard for me to say as I have a great deal of respect for Conrad Smith.

Plus he is only 22.

They should try out Sonny / Fruean against Scotland, that would be the ultimate test, with Toeava on the bench to come on as cover for them if it ends up to be a bomb.

Not the ultimate test, but you can't really put them against France when they have zero experience.

Yeah Ive checked Fruean's previous games and he only started off-loading when Sonny came along, Fruean started off-loading more when SBW brought it into the Cantab's backline attack. Before that Crotty and Fruean wernt doing offloads.

Another thing is, doesnt the 12 give the ball to the 13?...meaning SBW passes it to Fruean, its just that you said Mike that Fruean has been off loading to Sonny making SBW look awesome but its funny because SBW gets the ball before Fruean. I think Sonny gave an offload to Fruean in the Northland match to give Fruean some good space to show his stuff and Fruean scored a beauty, after that the Cantab midfield started offloading a lot.

They're both awesome together the twin towers are.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Another thing is, doesnt the 12 give the ball to the 13?...meaning SBW passes it to Fruean, its just that you said Mike that Fruean has been off loading to Sonny making SBW look awesome but its funny because SBW gets the ball before Fruean.

Eh? He said the exact opposite of that?
Freuan is making SBW look good, because he's always there in support, to catch SBWs offloads. If Freuan was a tad slower, or was thinking a split second slower, the offloads would go to ground/not happen

Also, the twin towers? Really? I think we all know what happened to the Twin Towers

 

[nickdnz]

Eh? He said the exact opposite of that?
Freuan is making SBW look good, because he's always there in support, to catch SBWs offloads. If Freuan was a tad slower, or was thinking a split second slower, the offloads would go to ground/not happen

Also, the twin towers? Really? I think we all know what happened to the Twin Towers

Yeah, kind of an inappropreate name. SBW is 6'4'' and 106kgs, Robert Fruean is 6'3'' and 105kgs. They're big, but I think towers suggests they're taller. They're both definetly well built centres though.

 

[Sam Owen]

Eh? He said the exact opposite of that?
Freuan is making SBW look good, because he's always there in support, to catch SBWs offloads. If Freuan was a tad slower, or was thinking a split second slower, the offloads would go to ground/not happen

Also, the twin towers? Really? I think we all know what happened to the Twin Towers

You know what?...I clicked on to that too late lol, I was gonna delete the whole post when I clicked but couldnt be stuffed, sorry Mikey. Silly me.

Yeah man the Twin Towers, they're definately the tallest centres in the ITM. Dont worry the Taliban cant play Rugby lol.

 

[Dizzy]

I so hope they try out the SBW and Fruen combo in the EOTY Tour... The biggest midfield in world rugby destroying the NH teams

I was saying to my mates that I hope Nonu and Smith get injured so SBW and Fruen can be the new AB's midfield combo... Alot of people are going to hate me for saying that, but I think that's the only way they will be able to start together, since the Smith and Nonu combo is well established now, it will be hard to topple them from their perch...

Agreed.

Although a SBW, Nonu combo is even greater don't you think

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Nonu, Fruean or SBW, Smith would be immense,
Nonu and SBW i'm not so sure

 

[Dizzy]

Nonu, Fruean or SBW, Smith would be immense,
Nonu and SBW i'm not so sure

I think it would be a great combination, especially since the way Nonu's game has picked up recently. Imagine Nonu back at centre, SBW at second five and having him draw two defenders, get the spectacular offload to a rampant Nonu hitting the ball at full burst busting a couple of tackles as he does?..
It would be a really great combination imo.

Smith would be good with anyone, his game is consistent

 

[Shaggy]

I think it would be a great combination, especially since the way Nonu's game has picked up recently. Imagine Nonu back at centre, SBW at second five and having him draw two defenders, get the spectacular offload to a rampant Nonu hitting the ball at full burst busting a couple of tackles as he does?..
It would be a really great combination imo.

Smith would be good with anyone, his game is consistent

Definitely not a fan of Nonu in the 13 jersey, it was noticeable how much they missed Smith on defense last year against the Springboks in Hamilton, when they played Donald at 12 and Nonu at 13 ... I do think it would be interesting to see SBW and Fruean tried in a couple of matches though.

 

[markshaw]

Fruean on the wing. New Jonah. SBW and Nonu in the midfeild as long as SBW defence gets better up there with smith

 

[Shaggy]

Fruean on the wing. New Jonah. SBW and Nonu in the midfeild as long as SBW defence gets better up there with smith

Yep, that might work ... if the year was 1995! ... the game has changed, and the skill sets required for wings no longer suit a Jonah type player.

They now need skills similar to full backs, hence why Cory Jane, and Israel Dagg are having success there ... don't get me wrong - i'd love to see SBW and Fruean get a go, just not playing out of position, or if they must be played as a wing, let them come of the bench.

IMO, SBW and Fruean (if they're picked) should be the backup combination to Nonu and Smith - if Nonu gets injured, then SBW gets brought in to replace him, if Smith gets injured, then Fruean replaces him ... the ABs back line is working fine at the moment ... If ain't broke, don't fix it

 

[nickdnz]

What people tend to forget about Jonah Lomu, was yes he was 6'5'' and 120kgs and very strong, but he was also very quick. I;ve heard a few comments lately like SBW/Fruean on the wing would be the new Jonah, but neither of them can run 100m in 10.8 seconds.

Obviously Nonu and Smith are a class combo, probably the best 12-13 NZ combo since Walter Little and Frank Bunce. Yes there are exciting new prospects, and I'm not saying they shouldn't be tested, but it seems people are always so eager to replace experienced, classy and tested players, for exciting new talent. It always astounds me of how fickle some of New Zealand is.

 

[Sam Owen]

No one compares to Jonah, just no one. The latest player to be compared to Jonah was Julian Savea and while Julian is a fine winger his power is no where near Jonah's. SBW/Fruean playing on the wing wouldnt be fair on them, even if they do have a blinder there its just not them.

Geez theres heaps of good 2nd five/centres Nonu, Smith, Kahui, McAllistair, Toeava, Stanley, Ranger, Crotty, Lynn, Marshall, Williams and Fruean.

 

[TRF C A Iversen]

No one compares to Jonah, just no one. The latest player to be compared to Jonah was Julian Savea and while Julian is a fine winger his power is no where near Jonah's. SBW/Fruean playing on the wing wouldnt be fair on them, even if they do have a blinder there its just not them.

Geez theres heaps of good 2nd five/centres Nonu, Smith, Kahui, McAllistair, Toeava, Stanley, Ranger, Crotty, Lynn, Marshall, Williams and Fruean.

Heaps of "good" ones, but only a couple in the world class category. Just now anyhow.

 

[Sam Owen]

Heaps of "good" ones, but only a couple in the world class category. Just now anyhow.

Yeah the first 7 out of 12 I mentioned have already played internationals, so thats over half of them with experience in the test arena. The rest are exciting who've shown potential in the ITM. The AB's are sweet as in the 2nd 5/centre's department.

 

[gingergenius]

agree with nickdnz... nonu and smith are the world's best centre pairing. Smith may not be as visibly exciting as SBW & Fruean, or even as other 13s from around the world, but his game-reading ability, defence, support play and so on is 2nd to none. And looking at how so many other teams never quite get their centre pairings right, NZ are onto a winner with Nonu-Smith and should wrap them in cotton wool until they've won the world cup.

 

[Shaggy]

agree with nickdnz... nonu and smith are the world's best centre pairing. Smith may not be as visibly exciting as SBW & Fruean, or even as other 13s from around the world, but his game-reading ability, defence, support play and so on is 2nd to none. And looking at how so many other teams never quite get their centre pairings right, NZ are onto a winner with Nonu-Smith and should wrap them in cotton wool until they've won the world cup.

I agree with all you have said EXCEPT the wrapping in cotton wool part ... yes, they need to be carefully managed so that they don't get over-played, but they also need game time as well to avoid what happened to the AB's in 2007.

We also need viable mid field back ups to cover for injuries - we only need to look at 2003 to see what happened when Tana was injured.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

I go back to a point I made earlier about SBW I think that he could never knock out a Nonu-Smith combo but would be a good alternative if one was injured.