Tighthead prop

On Saturday, Leinster tighthead prop Mike Ross left the field with a neck injury sustained in the opening scrum and his replacement Tom Court, more accomplished at loosehead, was under severe pressure for the remainder of the game

Tom is a decent prop but Saturday probably explains why the Tighthead prop is the highest paid player but very good ones are in short supply.

Not only are quality International tighthead props in short supply but props that can play both sides at International level are even rarer.

laurie, who do NZ have behind the Franks brothers?

luckily we dont have to select props for a couple of months yet,but there are going to be some interesting questions asked.
Tony Woodcock has not played a game since thwe World Cup final,hes got a sore leg.
Auckland have not found a genuine replacement for John Afoa yet, well not someone that comes close to Afoas lifting ability at lineout time.
Wyat Crockett is always there to cover loosehead but he has an inbuilt skill to get penelised at scrumtime.
The Chiefs props are both excellant but I think you will find young Tamiefuna going and committing himself to Tonga like his uncle who plays loosehead .
Bottom line its too early to play selection games,as I personally beleive there is an opportunity for a tighthead to impress escpecially from the Highlanders or Hurricanes.

8 men benches for Internationals, but limit the subs you are allowed to make (like in roundball I think it's 7 subs but 3 switches now). Done.

Next problem?

(PS: As a tighthead prop I wholeheartedly agree with the theme of this article!)