15 players low on caps about to make a big impact on the World Stage according to PR

15 Jaco Taute (Lions) - This 20-year-old full-back has been forced to bide his time in Johannesburg but finally seems to have pinned the number 15 jersey to his back after impressive Super Rugby and Currie Cup seasons. His try in the final of the latter competition was a fitting end to his year.

14 Christan Wade (Wasps) - Any young player looking for a platform to launch oneself need look no further than the Junior World Championship. Wade was one of a host of players to do just that as his pace earned him a long-term Wasps shirt. He'll continue to grow in 2012.

13 Jonny May (Gloucester) - Elliot Daly, Nevin Spence and Scott Williams all pushed hard throughout the year while Manu Tuilagi was ruled out due to making the cut last year. And so we went for a youngster who's firing on all cylinders - his versatility is a plus for Gloucester.

12 Wesley Fofana (Clermont) - Like Tuilagi, Owen Farrell finds himself ineligible for our young pretenders line-up, but we could well expect him to feature in next year's grown-up selection if he carries on the way he is. We go for Fofana, whose calmness in possession should see him make his France debut in the upcoming Six Nations Championship.

11 Timoci Matanavou (Toulouse) - Staying in France and we head to Toulouse for our next choice where former Stade Montois finisher Matanavou has been taking the Top 14 by storm. Guy Noves has found himself an impressive back who definitely has the x-factor.

10 Rhys Priestland (Scarlets) - Warren Gatland admirably backed this youngster following his pre-tournament performance against England and his faith in the Scarlet was rewarded during the World Cup. Priestland is an ideal replacement for Stephen Jones at Test level.

9 Conor Murray (Munster) - He came from nowhere didn't he? Behind Tomas O'Leary and Peter Stringer in 2010/11, this 22-year-old rocketed into first choice at province and country, showing power and coolness in possession in a fine year-ending spell for him personally.

8 Toby Faletau (Dragons) - It is hard to believe that this number eight is only 21 years of age after those stellar performances in New Zealand. Faletau - should he remain injury free - is set for a long and fruitful career in the Welsh jersey as he clearly knows his way to the line.

7 Matt Todd (Crusaders) - Originally Sam Warburton was a certainty for our openside berth but upon closer examination, his name was found in the 2010 mix. So in came Liam Gill of the Reds and 'Canes youngster Sam Cane until we recalled just how impressive Todd was.

6 Jack Lam (Hurricanes) - Tom Johnson was strong for Exeter in their first season in the Aviva Premiership while Peter O'Mahony looks set for good things with Munster. But for his dynamism and power, Lam gets the nod for good efforts in a struggling Hurricanes line-up.

5 Hugh Pyle (Melbourne Rebels) - The statistics do not lie about this young Rebel. Pyle was consistently brilliant for the new Super Rugby franchise and another strong campaign in 2012 could well see him fill the Wallaby squad void left by Nathan Sharpe when he retires.

4 Rynhardt Elstadt (Stormers) - Much like Pyle for Australia, South Africa surely have their replacement for as yet unretired Bakkies Botha lined up in this young lock. Elstadt carried superbly for the Stormers and with Andries Bekker alongside, Western Province are solid.

3 Rupert Harden (Gloucester) - Australian-born Harden has had a relatively late surge up the ranks since moving from Newcastle to Kingsholm and sees off 20-year-old Rhodri Jones from the Scarlets, who has impressed Wales assistant coach Robin McBryde.

2 Lloyd Burns (Dragons) - Another who has grabbed his chances when they came for region and country, Burns enjoyed a fine RWC and has handed Gatland something of a hooking headache alongside Huw Bennett, Matthew Rees and Richard Hibbard.

1 Marcel van der Merwe (Cheetahs) - Mako Vunipola was good for England during the IRB Junior World Championship and will learn a lot from Rhys Gill at Saracens. However, this 20-year-old prop has been hugely impressive in the Free State. Van der Merwe is in.


http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_7398929,00.html

I like these sorts of articles.  It's good to know what players are carrying the hopes of fans around the place.

The Liam Gill mentioned is one a lot of people here are excited about, and along with Michael Hooper at the Brumbies, openside is one position we may have a bit of depth in a couple of years. Luke Morahan (wing/fullback @ reds), Matt Toomua (flyhalf @ Brumbies), Jake Shatz (no 8 @ reds), James Hansen (hooker @ Reds), Dan Palmer (tighthead @ Brumbies) and Laurie Weeks (tighthead @ Rebels) are some others of ours I've hopes for next year.

I don`t remember there names,but I was very impressed by several uncapped Crusaders Players.At the end of the season covering 10 and 15,Todd of course was already established as RM`s backup by then.
Luke Whitelock and Tyler Bleyndale,were in there development squad,both were JWC stars.
Bleyendale rather slipped off the radar,but seemed to tick all the 10 boxes.

emack - scarily (or happily) Luke is apparently the best of the Whitelock 4....

Bleyendahl is learning his trade, let's leave him there for now. Cruden, Slade are good options behind Carter now without the weight of 24 years of expectation weighing them down. We KNOW the job can be done without Carter.

What I´d like to see appear on the radar is a halfback option. There´s one of those in the juniors as well but like Bleyendahl no need to rush him in.

Every year throws up some new names and not just ones from the list in PR. Always good to see new talent coming through. Some make a name for themselves early and then get found out. Others take a while to come on and have to hope they have faith placed in them like Kaino had for example in his early years. Then there are the very few standout players who appear on the international stage and look as though they always belonged there.

Kia - sadly I think the 9 you are thinking of is going to be rushed in anyway....TJ Perenara I assume? The Hurricanes are really lacking options in this area with Chris Smylie back in the squad so I'd like to see TJ get the nod and license to play....he's a great talent, played an NPC semi final whilst still at school....

It is interesting to look at peoples responses to these wide ranging global talent promoting articles.. To see where people have depth in relative countries. For example I watched Saracens twice in the last month, they have a very Talented Scrum Half in Spencer. In wales we have four or five Scrum Halfs of the same age and ability, Davies, Knoyle, Williams and Webb. Likewise SA and Aus have a host of great locks ready to step up, two of which mentioned above.. Wales have a couple of lads but not of the same calibre...

I wonder why some nations naturally produce great depth in certain positions and not in others...?

maestegmafia wrote:It is interesting to look at peoples responses to these wide ranging global talent promoting articles.. To see where people have depth in relative countries. For example I watched Saracens twice in the last month, they have a very Talented Scrum Half in Spencer. In wales we have four or five Scrum Halfs of the same age and ability, Davies, Knoyle, Williams and Webb. Likewise SA and Aus have a host of great locks ready to step up, two of which mentioned above.. Wales have a couple of lads but not of the same calibre...

I wonder why some nations naturally produce great depth in certain positions and not in others...?

Good point Maes.

I think half-back is one area where NZ's weight based youth system hurts us (in fairness it's great for other positions). Instead of the smallest kids being made half-back, and a naturally gfted one emerging, the small kids all play against each other and get spread around other positions. In the bigger kids' teams the "glory" positions that attract the most skilled players are 7, 10 and the wings.

In part i think it's a vicious circle. If you produce a couple of very talented players in certain positions then kids want to emulate them and play that position. So it's hardly suprising that in New Zealand for example 7 and 10 are popular positions because kids want to be the next McCaw or Carter.

I can add from a South African perspective.

Coenie Oosthuizen, loose head prop.
Patrick Lambie, fly half.
Francois Hougaard, scrum half.
Johann Sadie, Center.

Yeah that´s the one Mintie but like Bleyendahl he's a mouthful. Sometimes age isn´t a barrier. Lomu was an AB at 19. He certainly wasn´t intimidated although his first test against the French was woeful.

Halfback for me is a good place to have a young kid. Someone who isn´t afraid to give a bit of backchat to all around him because he doesn´t know any better. Someone who is game to try things out or take the line on motivated from the impetuousness of youth. The only problem is those things have to come off. If you play when you´re young and you have a shocker again and again, it´s very hard to come back from mentally. But if you play well and your confidence grows, then you're very difficult to stop.

Kiwireddevil wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:It is interesting to look at peoples responses to these wide ranging global talent promoting articles.. To see where people have depth in relative countries. For example I watched Saracens twice in the last month, they have a very Talented Scrum Half in Spencer. In wales we have four or five Scrum Halfs of the same age and ability, Davies, Knoyle, Williams and Webb. Likewise SA and Aus have a host of great locks ready to step up, two of which mentioned above.. Wales have a couple of lads but not of the same calibre...

I wonder why some nations naturally produce great depth in certain positions and not in others...?

Good point Maes.

I think half-back is one area where NZ's weight based youth system hurts us (in fairness it's great for other positions). Instead of the smallest kids being made half-back, and a naturally gfted one emerging, the small kids all play against each other and get spread around other positions. In the bigger kids' teams the "glory" positions that attract the most skilled players are 7, 10 and the wings.

In many ways the weight system sounds fantastic but i now see you have a few draw backs. Imagine what it must have been like trying to get in Toby Faletau's team if you were a welsh kid with ambitions of playing number eight. We are not used to the size of polynesian teenagers over here...

Thats a good point too. Many of our schools are full of them. Big maori and island forwards and backs. South auckland has more pacific islanders than the entire rugby playing pacific islands combined.

Another year passes and Ireland still waits for that elusive young tighthead prop to lock our scrum for the next 15 years. I'm sure he'll turn up.

Feckless Rogue wrote:Another year passes and Ireland still waits for that elusive young tighthead prop to lock our scrum for the next 15 years. I'm sure he'll turn up.

Surely the Claw or Popplewell have spurned some likely candidate by now...?

I really like the look of Jonny May he is rapid but has a rugby brain as well. Apparently hes the quickest in the Gloucester squad which is very impressive considering Sharples was the quickest in the England squad!

Rupert Harden is a very odd call, agree May looks very exciting though. He should be drafted into the England setup asap as he's got bags of talent.

May would be great on the bench - he can cover every position from 11 to 15.

maestegmafia wrote:

Feckless Rogue wrote:Another year passes and Ireland still waits for that elusive young tighthead prop to lock our scrum for the next 15 years. I'm sure he'll turn up.

Surely the Claw or Popplewell have spurned some likely candidate by now...?

ha ha hopefully you mean spawned otherwise a little icky

Either Works... Could have added John Hayes to that list, he qualifies on caps even if he lacked their skill.

Liam Gill is a very exciting player who I think wil lbe World Class in a couple of years.

TH for Ireland - Hagan and Macklin are decent propects.