Proven Versatile

So is rainy here again and I am thinking on some waste of time and I come to this idea:

It is common thing for to have a prop play both sides of scrum particular if he name for the bench.

We also see many players who cover inside and outside centre (or second five eight and centre if you are from pacific place).

But who is the most versatile player from professional times?

My pick might be Toeava. He played of course for all blacks. He has been picked to play 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 starting or off the bench to cover without moving around for injury.

Can you think of anyone more positions? or maybe more versatile and unlikely change such as flanker to wing or something!

And please not to mention Bergamasco when he was shift to 9 because was a disaster and the sign of insane coach!

Adam Ashley-Cooper has played 11,12,13,14 and 15 but probably to more success than what Toeava has. Chuck in James O'Connor too, not played 13 but played 10.

Radike Samo has played back row/second row and also on the wing for Australia.

Good points yes but I dont think much about Adam Ashley-Cooper. I watch him miss so many tackles. O'Connor is too little for centre.

Really, AAC has one of the highest tackles success rates in the super xv. James O'Connor isn't that small, he isn't the big crash ball centre but is very handy at 12 and makes his tackles .

Austin Healey used to play 9, 10, 11, 14 or 15, for Leicester and England.

I would say Mike Catt and Frans Steyn are up there with Healey.

Mike Catt was a world class Flyhalf, Centre and Fullback and had more than enough pace to burn on the wing. He could tackle, pass, kick and run with the ball all to a high standard and was a genuine first receiver right up till his mid 30s.

Frans Steyn less so. He is an excellent second five-eigth who can play flyhalf and fullback to a very high standard and actually was first capped as a wing.... this was before he packed on the pounds.

In terms of forwards... Danie Russouw, Tim Rodber, Abdel Benazzi & Martin Corry could all played Lock, blindside and no8 to a high standard.... I think thats as versatile you'll get for a forward excluding mid game injuries where some players fill in as there is no one else left.

Frans Steyn 10 ,12,13,14,15 for Springboks (Debuted on the wing )

Gareth Thomas. Played all backs positions and rugby league

Pienaar anybody?

Tim Rodber, Abdel Benazzi

Aahh two class players there....Rodber is one of my favorite players ever...and have had the fortune (or actually the misfortune ) to have played against him....

Is this where we mention Bergamasco again?

There are a lot of similarities between 10-15 so you almost expect plenty of backs to have played multi-positions.

As already mentioned Healy started tests at 9, 10 and Wing while covering centre and Full Back during some matches.

What about Philippe Sella and JPR Williams, clkassy backs who also put in stints as Flankers?

Delon Armitage has played full-back, wing and centre.

I hear Mike Phillips occasionally has a break from being a flanker and fills in at scrum half. Wasn't that impressed though.

Pain - you really are flakey my friend - brilliant !

mckay1402 wrote:Gareth Thomas. Played all backs positions and rugby league

There is a joke or two in this statement.

I understand this joking. There is very amusing.

Pascal Ondarts

fa0019 wrote: Mike Catt was a world class Flyhalf, Centre and Fullback and had more than enough pace to burn on the wing. He could tackle, pass, kick and run with the ball all to a high standard and was a genuine first receiver right up till his mid 30s.

I think I'd disagree with you about him being world class at Fly Half and Full Back, probably Centre too.

Granted, he did a great job for England in 2003, but he was very much a successful Plan B, he was not first choice for most of his career.

On his early career Dan Carter played 10,12,15 for Canterbury,Crusaders and the All Blacks.He has also covered wing and Scrum half briefly.Itwas common practice in Nz for the 5/8 to cover 10,12 and 15.Also Flankers playing left and right,full backs covering wings and vice versa goes back years.Stu Wilson,Allan Hewson and Bernie Fraser for Wellington and the AllBlacks.Hewson being a great goal kick,and counter attacker but poor defensively especiallly under the high ball.The recent practice in NZ of players covering 6,7,8 in my opinion is fallible.
Masoe.Luaki,Messam.vito,O`Siaolo,Thomson all got messed about so no one cemented a regular place in the AllBlacks.Rodney O being the exception.

From an SA perspective.

Frans Steyn - 10, 12, 13, 14, 15
Patrick Lambie - 10, 12, 15
Francois Hougaard - 9, 14
Schalk Burger - 6, 7, 8
Willem Alberts - 7, 8
JP Pietersen - 14, 13
Gio Aplon - 11, 14, 15

PerryGee

In terms of Catt being world class.. well he was the best fullback in Europe in the mid 90s and perhaps only Cullen and Joubert were better.

It wasn't his natural position (second five eigth) which he was a supreme talent esp. post 99RWC and prior to his injuries which allowed Tindall to get a break in the inside centre position... much to Jonny Wilkinsons detriment as SCW found no one to replace his unique skills... Grayson, Hodgson, King were all tested... none were adequate.

I also recall him being the starting 10 in 98 when ENG broke SA's world record 17 wins in a row run at twickenham where he ran the show on the world champs and best team in the world at the time. If that doesn't show he was a more than capable 10 then there is little else.

His weaknesses were his place kicking and him probably being maybe 1 or 2 steps ahead of his fellow players.... when he made a break he would always look for the offload and his backrow/nearest supporters were almost always not close enough to him to retain possession.

I'd say David Wallace.

The man could play 6, 7 or 8 to international standard, and also turned out on the wing.

Great combination of pace and power.

I also recall him being the starting 10 in 98 when ENG broke SA's world record 17 wins in a row run at twickenham where he ran the show on the world champs and best team in the world at the time. If that doesn't show he was a more than capable 10 then there is little else.

I assume you mean ended the springboks run to end up only equalling the world record of 17 wins in a row?

BB.. yes, I could have put it better. They ended SA's record and broke the cycle of consecutive wins... not the actual record.

glamorganalun wrote:

mckay1402 wrote:Gareth Thomas. Played all backs positions and rugby league

There is a joke or two in this statement.

Nope. what's the joke? He may not have set the world alight in rugby league but he still played and scored. In union he played wing, centre and fullback so I'd say that was fairly versatile

Shayne Philpott(y) could cover any position in the backline. Unfortunately all as bad as each other.

I think when you talk of great versatility no one can hold a candle to Radike Samo. I can only think of Eric Rush who has turned out on the wing and as an openside who has played in the backrow and in the backs. Nowadays shifting round in the backline seems all too common, albeit to varying effects.

If you want versatility,then what about Brad Thorn.

Won a World Cup medal playing rugby league,playing front and second row,transfers over to rugby union and wins a World cup medal playing lock.No one has ever done that and I dare say no one else will.

Peter Richards now retired I believe has played every position in the backs barring 10. As I recall in the '07 WC we also saw him packing down in the flank in one game. Thats one position that Austin never covered!

aucklandlaurie wrote: If you want versatility,then what about Brad Thorn.

Won a World Cup medal playing rugby league,playing front and second row,transfers over to rugby union and wins a World cup medal playing lock.No one has ever done that and I dare say no one else will.

It kinda helps if you play for the best sides (by far) in both sports. If he'd played for Papua New Guinea in League and Italy in Union it would be more of an achievement. I hear he was considering playing for Brazil in Soccer but then opted for Spain instead.

Didn't Andy Farrell first get capped in the front row in League? Ended up a second five eigth in union albeit not a great one.... given enough time he would have proved an excellent union player IMO.

Kia... Pierre Spies has played for the boks and bulls as a winger... although I don't think he has ever started on the wing for the boks. He was first capped in SR as a winger.
His da was a famous SA olympian sprinter.

mckay1402 wrote:Gareth Thomas. Played all backs positions and rugby league

Good shout - did he ever play 10 though?

Still 11 - 15 and played League is pretty versatile.

fa0019 wrote:Didn't Andy Farrell first get capped in the front row in League? Ended up a second five eigth in union albeit not a great one.... given enough time he would have proved an excellent union player IMO.

Kia... Pierre Spies has played for the boks and bulls as a winger... although I don't think he has ever started on the wing for the boks. He was first capped in SR as a winger.
His da was a famous SA olympian sprinter.

The point being,that there is nothing in rugby League that bears any resemblance to what the role is of a rugby union lock,Andy farrell never played lock (rugby union) and I'm not sure if he won any World cup medals.If Thorn goes on to win a heineken cup medal he will have been victorious in both Hemispheres as well (Crusaders).

Still think Radike Samo is a bigger jump from number 8 to wing and I think he's popped up in the centre as well and I'm not sure about the second row. That's versatility. Thorn had a lot more of a leap than someone like JR. Wasn't sure about Spies but like Croft he has the pace to play in the backs. I'm sure there are others.

Andy Farrell started at 6 (so equivalent to stand-off) at Wigan and I think GB. As he filled out he moved to 13 (back row) before ending in the front row when all the pace was gone.

So many players have played in more than one postion in the backs (though few in all 7) that really it is almostthe norm. Thr true versatile ones are those who can play in the forwards or the backs in the same season.