One unestablished player from your country that others should know about

Let us know about one upcoming player from your country whom others may not know about, but should be hearing more of over the next few years.

Ill start. My candidate is Greig Laidlaw.

Laidlaw has been called Scotlands Michalak recently, a scrumhalf who has proved to be extremely capable at fly half. I dont think this term is correct however. Laidlaw is a completely different player to Michalak. Greig is as defensively sound as youll ever see in a half back. Despite being tiny, hes not afraid to cover tackle a 20st prop on a rampaging run, or scramble on the deck for loose ball with half the opposition jumping on top of him. While not the flashiest, he is one of the most consistent players in Scotland, and one of the few players who has enhanced their reputation during edinburghs disastrous regime under rafa.

He's in Scotlands world cup training squad, but is overlooked by pundits/fans etc as he is the least experienced scrumhalf, behind Mike Blair, Chris Cusiter and Rory Lawson. He is arguably on current form however, better than all three of these players. Laidlaws advantage as mentioned above, is his versatility. Greig covered fly half towards the end of the season for edinburgh after David Blair's form nosedived, and did it so well that many are calling for him to travel to New Zealand as a Stand off, if not a scrumhalf.

With rumours circulating that Cusiter is still struggling with injury, as well as Mike Blair, and Lawsons awfull game against the Irish, Laidlaw may have a chance to grab the number 9 shirt, or with Parks' poor form, the 10 shirt as an alternative to Jackson.

Greig Laidlaw is the current Captain of one of two Scottish professional sides, capped Scotland international and in with a good chance of making the Scotland team for the World Cup. Certainly he'll travel. How much more established can you get?

My nomination is Luke Marshall. In some ways he's already an established player, having played on a couple of occasions in the Magners League for Ulster, but he is yet to play Heineken Cup rugby so despite my misgivings I'll nominate him.

The reason I mention him is because he has such a wide skill set. He's played a lot of rugby at 10, before being identified as a suitable candidate for 12 in the way Ulster play the game. His main assets are his ability to offload the ball in contact, creativity and vision but hes also impressively strong and deceptively quick. With the right coaching he could be a star a few years down the line.

Depends what you mean by established. I'd be tempted to tout either Ulster's Paddy McAllister or if it really established then maybe JJ Hanrahan of Munster.

There's this bloke called Sean O'Brien who plays blindside for Leinster. You'd hardly notice him, but I reckon he's gonna come good one of these days.....

There are a number of very promising but un-established players around the English league at the moment. I could have picked someone from one of my home club like Tom Catterick who I’m expecting big from, or maybe Elliot Daly who I can see having a big year at Wasps. Instead I am going to pick another young Wasp in Christian Wade. Wade was the joint top try scorer in the JWC (He didn’t have the benefit of mismatch that Arno Botha had in the fith place play off against Fiji).

Wade is quite small and illusive and has (inevitably) been compared by some enthusiastic English fans as being similar to Jason Robinson. There are some similarities I suppose, he is small but his legs are very powerfull which makes him deceptivley strong when evading tackles. The difference I think is that Robinson was quicker over the first 30 metres, going from 0 to 60 in no time at all. Wade doesn’t quite have that explosiveness or as good step.

Sadly people are already suggesting that he is too small and I can see him being passed over for some Cueto-esqu solid player in the future. Whatever happens, I think he is going to get some decent game time in the AP this year.

He has a decent set of highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snr7hAfT_3Q (*Warning* make sure your volume is muted)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvGmpNeoqEc (have to scroll through this one a little bit. *same warning about the volume*

Notch wrote:Greig Laidlaw is the current Captain of one of two Scottish professional sides, capped Scotland international and in with a good chance of making the Scotland team for the World Cup. Certainly he'll travel. How much more established can you get?

I meant internationally, in which hes only played a combined total of about 25 minutes, and until now, hasnt got a look in. And I wouldnt guarantee on him travelling. I think he should, but hes not a dead cert. And as for current captain, he only got that position yesterday...

For me, unestablished is a guy who fans from other nations wouldn't be familiar with. Laidlaw has been around for a good while and is a fairly senior player at Edinburgh. I've certainly seen him play quite a bit over the past few seasons and am pretty familiar with him.

In Ulster we have full contracts, development contracts for younger, more promising squad players and academy players. I'd say anyone on a full professional contract is an established player.

I know everyone will have different views on this, but thats where I'd draw the line.

Notch wrote:My nomination is Luke Marshall. In some ways he's already an established player, having played on a couple of occasions in the Magners League for Ulster, but he is yet to play Heineken Cup rugby so despite my misgivings I'll nominate him.

The reason I mention him is because he has such a wide skill set. He's played a lot of rugby at 10, before being identified as a suitable candidate for 12 in the way Ulster play the game. His main assets are his ability to offload the ball in contact, creativity and vision but hes also impressively strong and deceptively quick. With the right coaching he could be a star a few years down the line.

This would be my choice as well, seems to be an exceptional talent. Between Spence and himself, the young ulster centre combination will hopefully cause plenty of havoc in the upcoming seasons. As red_stag said if Paddy McAllister maintains his form, he should be well on his way to pulling on the green jersey

No doubt all Northern hemisphere posters will be familiar with the names of Stephan Donald, colin Slade, and Aaron Cruden as possible alternatives to Dan Carter, But one you may not have heard of is Beauden Barrettt, just turned 20, and was 2 months too old play in the last under 20's tournament winning team, even though he did represent NZ in the same tournament in 2009.
Currently playing for Taranaki in the ITM , he has really caught my eye over the last month or so.not just for his goal kicking,last weekend kicked 9 from 10 in Taranaki's defeat of Bay of Plenty,but also for his eagerness to run to the line and then execute any number of options.
he has also been part of Titch's Nz 7s squad.and has good wheels.
Next year will be his make or break year with the Hurricanes in S.15.
Something tells me we all might hear a lot more of this kid in the years to come.

I would say Nevin Spence and Conor Murray are the two most exciting young players I've seen in Ireland this year. Willie Faloon too.

Does Felix Jones count? If so him too.

Anyway I'm backing these guys to be established interntionals over the next couple of seasons if not sooner.

aucklandlaurie wrote: No doubt all Northern hemisphere posters will be familiar with the names of Stephan Donald, colin Slade, and Aaron Cruden as possible alternatives to Dan Carter, But one you may not have heard of is Beauden Barrettt, just turned 20, and was 2 months too old play in the last under 20's tournament winning team, even though he did represent NZ in the same tournament in 2009.
Currently playing for Taranaki in the ITM , he has really caught my eye over the last month or so.not just for his goal kicking,last weekend kicked 9 from 10 in Taranaki's defeat of Bay of Plenty,but also for his eagerness to run to the line and then execute any number of options.
he has also been part of Titch's Nz 7s squad.and has good wheels.
Next year will be his make or break year with the Hurricanes in S.15.
Something tells me we all might hear a lot more of this kid in the years to come.

Yeah definitely, he seems like a very promising player indeed from the brief glimpses I've caught of him.

roddersm wrote:I would say Nevin Spence and Conor Murray are the two most exciting young players I've seen in Ireland this year. Willie Faloon too.

Does Felix Jones count? If so him too.

Anyway I'm backing these guys to be established interntionals over the next couple of seasons if not sooner.

Faloon's been around for at least the last two seasons though in fairness. Jones has too but he was so unlucky with injuries, this season was his first real run of games. I'd add Craig Gilroy and Dom Ryan to your list Rodders. Gilroy's try record last season speaks for itself but people seem to have mixed views on Ryan. I think he really impressed in the few games he got a chance in for Leinster this year - another gem from Leinster's unbelievable backrow conveyor belt. I suppose those two are well established at this stage though.

If I'm picking someone that few people outside Ireland would have heard of I'll go for Ian Nagle for Munster. Should get significant gametime during the world cup with POC & DOC gone (and probably Ryan or god forbid MOD) so he'll get his chance during the first few months of the season and I'd back him to impress and certainly be one for the future (it'll be a good 3/4 years before he's in a green jersey though)

Mike Sherry (Munster hooker aged 23) is looking good as well. He has really come from nowhere - uncapped at underage level. Has an accurate throw and really gets around, very fast, good scrummager as well. He was the hooker when Munster shoved Leinster over for penalty try in Magners Final.

Munster players who will do well internationally: Sherry, Nagle, Murray & Jones.

Marshall, Spence and McAllister from Ulster, Deasy and Murray from Munster, Ryan and Ruddock from Leinster.
I'll pick out Dom Ryan for Leinster. I would see him as a 6, but likely to see more gametime at 7 this year. belter of a player. Massive tackler. Devastating really. Got nothing much under Cheika (who called him dominique because of his blond highlights) Got ahead of Ruddock under Schmidt, partly because of Ruddock having a big summer with under 20s and a full cap down under.

I'll be interested to see how kyle eastmond goes in union having just made the swap..

As another poster mentioned above england under 20's went well in the JWC, some other names to look out for:

Joe Launchberry (wasps)
Matt Kvesic (leicester)
George ford (leicester)
Mako vunipola (gloucester)

I was particularly impressed by these guys during the tournament.

Sibusiso Sithole.

Played for SA in the JWC, and scored 4 tries in his three appearances.

Left wing.

Born 14/6/1990

1.78 meters 5 foot 10"
90 Kg's 14st 2lb's


Dynamic runner, plays for the Sharks in the Currie cup, I think he will be better than Mvovo in the not too distant future.

Matthew Morgan, looks a fantastic prospect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhKUG8nv49g

Ditto Eastmond, looking forward to seeing how he goes.

Ross Chisholm at Quins has great potential....I'd expect him to be making it to Saxons this season.

mid gen
Hang on, most of us know about Kyle Eastmond or is there another one ?

Someone had mentioned him, I was just reminded that I

'm interested in seeing how he goes. Don't know how many non-English people have seen him play..

mrsuperclear wrote:
Faloon's been around for at least the last two seasons though in fairness. Jones has too but he was so unlucky with injuries, this season was his first real run of games. I'd add Craig Gilroy and Dom Ryan to your list Rodders. Gilroy's try record last season speaks for itself but people seem to have mixed views on Ryan.

Fair enough but I don't think Faloon is an established name outside Ireland and he's still young for a flanker. I'm convinced he'll be a top player when he develops physically but he needs to nail down the 7 jersey at Ulster this year.

Jones is 25 but just seems to be establishing himself now after struggling with injury. He was superb towards the end of last season and will give Kearney a real fight for the Ireland 15 jersey post WC.

Gilroy's try scoring is phenomenal and he has a great chance to nail down a starting place for Ulster this year. I think he is a couple of seasons away from international rugby though whereas I think Murray and Spence are closer to being complete players.

Only seen Ryan once or twice but he looks good alright although he may struggle to extablish himself at Leinster with so much backrow quality. Nagle is a good shout, I hoped he'd break through last season but maybe this could be his year but again there's POC, DOC, MOD and Ryan there so it will be hard for him to get gametime.

mid gem
I think you will find a lot of Australians and New Zealanders on here that follow both code will be aware of him.

For England I think Charlie Sharples could turn out to be a very good player. He is a winger with decent pace and skill and has performed well with Gloucester. Obviously Ashton is nailed on starter but Cueto and Banahan are fairly useless. Could Sharples be the long term answer on the other wing?

I'll say Gareth Davies at the Scarlets. He's behind Tavis Knoyle at scrum half and he's only had a few games, but he's built like Scott Gibbs and he's seriously quick off the mark. If he can develop his decision making he could be some player.

AlynDavies wrote:Matthew Morgan, looks a fantastic prospect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhKUG8nv49g

I agree, could be great.

I'm going with Adam Hughes for the Dragons. Mostly been playing on wing but is actually a centre. Tackles above his weight and has a great turn of pace.

Adam Hughes

Adam Hughes (born 14 February 1990) is a rugby union player for Newport RFC and the Newport Gwent Dragons regional team. He has represented Wales at Under 16, Under 18 and Under 20 level.

A centre, Hughes made his debut from Newport Gwent Dragons against Cardiff Blues 23 April 2010. In May 2010 he was selected in the Wales Under 20 Squad for the Junior World Cup in Argentina in June 2010 [1]

aucklandlaurie wrote: No doubt all Northern hemisphere posters will be familiar with the names of Stephan Donald, colin Slade, and Aaron Cruden as possible alternatives to Dan Carter, But one you may not have heard of is Beauden Barrettt, just turned 20, and was 2 months too old play in the last under 20's tournament winning team, even though he did represent NZ in the same tournament in 2009.
Currently playing for Taranaki in the ITM , he has really caught my eye over the last month or so.not just for his goal kicking,last weekend kicked 9 from 10 in Taranaki's defeat of Bay of Plenty,but also for his eagerness to run to the line and then execute any number of options.
he has also been part of Titch's Nz 7s squad.and has good wheels.
Next year will be his make or break year with the Hurricanes in S.15.
Something tells me we all might hear a lot more of this kid in the years to come.

A correction. He played in this year's winning side at full back. He did not play last year as he wasn't selected.

HQ matt wrote:I'll be interested to see how kyle eastmond goes in union having just made the swap..

As another poster mentioned above england under 20's went well in the JWC, some other names to look out for:

Joe Launchberry (wasps)
Matt Kvesic (leicester)
George ford (leicester)
Mako vunipola (gloucester)

I was particularly impressed by these guys during the tournament.

Err HQ Matt Mako Vunipola is at Saracens now. Sarries boys to look out for are Ben Ransom,James Short and Owen Farrell.

Ben Ransom was England U20s full back this year. Owen Farrell and James Short helped Saracens win the AP. Collecting all the points on offer in the final between them. James Short scored the winning AP try and had an important role in try of the season. He was also one of the stars in this year's JP morgan asset management sevens tournament. Owen Farrell as starting fly half for Sarries kicked all his goals in the AP final.

James Short is 21,Owen Farrell and Ben Ransom are both 19.

Lee Jones at Edinburgh for me.

Sharp as a tack, and completely different to the usual bludgeon we have on our wings. Provides a perfect balance with Visser on the other wing, and covers the ground at least twice as fast as Simon Webster.

He's had a few games for Edinburgh last season and scored a couple of tries at ML and HC level, plus has 7's experience.

Hopefully he'll get his chance under the Bradley regime.

In Ireland, I think the main ones have been noted. They are Luke Marshall, Dom Ryan and Ian Nagle. To finish off the provincial quartet, I'll nominate Tiernan O'Halloran. A home grown player, there have been rumours about a bad attitude but no one can question his talent on the rugby field. An instinctive back three player who is quick without having elite speed but has good vision and is willing to have a go bringing the game to the opposition.

If someone could help, it would be good to get some players from outside the Home Nations. I'll post up a few in a bit if no one else has offered any.

Beshocked

For the reasons you mentioned Short and Farrell would probably count as established players, they've just held first team positions in the AP winners, most people will know who they are.

Vunipola looked like he could be very handy (and will hopefully get gametime when Stevens is away with England) while Ransom looked like he had decent feet, even if it did end up with him running up a blind alley every once and again.

I'll add to MBTGOG's provincial with an alternative quartet

Munster: Conor Murray, down the pecking order but it's hard to see that staying the case for long. Will hasten Stringers retirement.

Leinster: Andrew Conway, exciting isn't the word.

Ulster: Possibly the hardest province in terms of picking just one player, but I'll go for Gaston.

Connacht: Andrew Browne, started many games last year because of injuries to others, but has it all to do again this year with everyone back fit. Like Murray at Munster will probably speed up the retirement of Michael Swift in the Connacht second row.

greybeard wrote:Leinster: Andrew Conway, exciting isn't the word.

He was the star of the U-20's WC for me (for Ireland). Is he likely to get much gametime this season? He really is electric and overshadowed Gilroy in that tournament for me. Is wing his best position?

South Africa: Sias and Robert Ebersohn. The twins were a huge part of the renaissance of the Cheetahs in the Super Rugby last year. Sias leads from the pivot with a cultured left foot while Robert provides the cutting threat at outside centre and has a knack of being in the right place at the right time for scoring or sending the final pass for tries. I hope they don't have to find new teams so they can make it to higher honours.

Australia: Liam Gill, the openside for Reds is still just 19 years of age but played a part in the Reds maiden Super Rugby triumph. He played for the Australian 7s team at just 17 years of age and played at the iRB Junior World Championships three years before the cut off. This guy is probably the outstanding back row prospect in world rugby. Keep an eye on this guy.

robbo277 wrote:Beshocked

For the reasons you mentioned Short and Farrell would probably count as established players, they've just held first team positions in the AP winners, most people will know who they are.

Vunipola looked like he could be very handy (and will hopefully get gametime when Stevens is away with England) while Ransom looked like he had decent feet, even if it did end up with him running up a blind alley every once and again.

Robbo277 I agree with you but I thought imperialbigdave meant unestablished players on an international stage. Plus James Short and Owen Farrell barely register on the England radar. Hopefully Ben Ransom and Mako Vunipola can copy the other two.

Argentina: Ignacio Rodriguez Muedra is an outhalf who this season will ply his trade with La Rochelle in France's Pro D2. He's an impish fly half who likes to play at the gainline and push defences. He was nominated for iRB Young Player of the Year in 2010. Spending time in Pro D2 might mean it will take a little longer to get recognition but hopefully it will allow him time to grow into the senior game.

Samoa: Ahsee Tuala is a back three player for Counties Manukau in the ITM Cup and has been part of the Chiefs wider training squad this past year. He boasts good speed, is a good finisher and has quite a knack for intercepts. With Samoa's back three options getting on now and most likely won't be around for much longer after the World Cup, he will part of a new wave of Samoan players going towards the next World Cup.

Tupric is going to be a cracking 7 and from the younger age groups harry robinson at the blues and sam davies wales under 18 fly half, osprey academy and son of scarlet coach Nigel Davies.

HQ matt wrote:
As another poster mentioned above england under 20's went well in the JWC, some other names to look out for:

Joe Launchberry (wasps)
Matt Kvesic (leicester)
George ford (leicester)
Mako vunipola (gloucester)

I was particularly impressed by these guys during the tournament.

Fully agree with this. I was especially impressed by Launchberry. Very mobile and seems to have perfected the art of the try-saving tackle!

a few players i know of and actually played with, only u16 level atm but have been signed to go to leciester tiger acadamey next year are Luke Williams (hooker) and Rhys williams (utility back) it will take a few years but i seriously think if they carry on as they are with welsh u16 caps then they could go quite far, certainly rhys can (whom i have known since the age of 8 and he has always had this spark and had the pleasure of playing with him and now against him)

Like others it is McAllister and Marshall for me at Ulster.
These are the most exiting players I have seen come through our ranks in a long time.

Shows how well we are doing at the moment when I don't even mention Gilroy and Spence - exciting times.

Further down the track real prospects at 2 and 10 as well.

Based on the preseason friendlies looks like Hanrahan could see gametime for Munster this year.

Keatley - Hanrahan is a 10-12 axis style Munster have never really used. Should be interesting.

Stag,would love to see us employ a second 5/8th type of player. It could unleash our exciting back three.

Could we end up with :

09 Murray
10 Keatley
11 Earls
12 Hanrahan
13 Barnes
14 Howlett
15 Jones

20 O'Leary
21 O'Gara
22 J.Murphy

Almost an all Irish backline,quite impressive for Munster and they could be quite competitive too.

With the reduction to 4 NIQ for 2012-13 that would be a big help for Munster.
Given that Leinster and Ulster will also have largely Irish backlines for that season (Ulster will not replace Danielli) it can only be good for the International team with the likes of:

Stringer, ROG, D'Arcy, BOD, Murphy, Wallace, Horgan coming to the end of their careers.

Munster need as many Irish backs as they can to have 3 NIQ props - Borlase, Botha, du Preez

Isn't Borlase a project player? Although judging from his performances I have as good a shot as playing for Ireland!

Thomond wrote:Isn't Borlase a project player?

Still isn't IQ though.

I thought Project Players aren't counted in your 4 NIQs? You have 4 guys who can't play for Ireland anfd then you have a project player? 4+1 isn't it?

Yea its correct. Don't see any difference to be honest. For me they either are or are not eligable.

It is 4+1. The key point though is 2012-13 will be 1 less than 2011-12.

For Ulster all 4 NIQ will be in postions 1 to 9 and the Project will be Payne - so goodbye Danielli