Chris Hala'Ufia

I want everyone to watch the following video on the London Irish official site before replying to this thread: http://www.london-irish.com/flvpopup.ink?videourl=/uploads/video/ChabalvHalufia.flv&summary=Chris%20Hala'ufia%20v%20Sebastien%20Chabal%20-%20Who%20is%20your%20money%20on?

My question is - why is he so underrated?! I reckon that if I was to ask the majority of people on here who Irish's first choice Number 8 was they would have to do a lot of scratching around to come up with the answer. I was on the Sarries message board at the weekend after the game, and most referred to him as 'the big Number 8' and appeared to have no idea who he was. And yet, since he joined Irish in 2008 he has probably been our most consistent performer. He NEVER has a bad game. The likes of Kennedy, the Armitages, Hodgson, Mapusua, Ojo and Tagicakibau have gained the plaudits, but in my opinion Hala'Ufia has been more impressive than any of those guys. Having watched the video, what I want people to answer is why isn't his work appreciated outside the realm of London Irish fans?! I honestly cannot think of another Number 8 in the Premiership who is as dynamic, explosive and skilful as he is...in fact, it is a bit of a struggle to think of a Number 8 in Europe who matches Chris...anyway, thoughts on a postcard.

The Hoff is very underated outside of the MadStad SirBurger, but I think all London Irish fans have noticed how much we have missed him during his recent 7 week lay off. The game that springs to mind most is the one against Edinburgh, where we got bullied at the tackle area, bith in attack and defence. That I suspect would have been a very different contest had he been on the field.

Hopefully now he is back, he can avoid another ban, as he is a big player for us, and could be one of the keys to us being in with a shout of the play offs come the end of the season.

I was really impressed by him in the Sarries-London Irish. I was also guilty of calling him the big no 8! Doesn't help that his name is a mouthful. Him and Garvey were your best players on the pitch.

I still think Ernst Joubert is an excellent no 8. Biased of course.

Your big no 8 is a very good player though. He's so underrated by me because I haven't seen much of him.

SirBurger, I know who the Huff is and how valuable he is to the Exiles, but one thought behind his lack of recognition might be his disciplinary record, which from memory isn't great? (however, could be completely wrong and be thinnking of someone else?)

His disciplinary record is poor Asbo, he is a typical Pacific Islander forward who loves the big hits, and has a tendency to swing his arms in the tackle, leading to him spending time in front of Judge Blackett on more than one occasion in the past few seasons.

Couple of great hand offs in the video montage, one on Owen Farell and then one that put one of the Saints players on his backside.

He is quality, but his disciplinary record is terrible!
you will struggle to find a better ball carrying number 8.