Cobus Visagie's view of the RC and the most important player

Read this article on planetrugby: http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16016_8136038,00.html

Cobus Visagie is a former Springbok prop. As someone familiar with the goings-on in the front row, he shares the opinion of Danie Craven that the tighthead prop should be the most important position on the field and the reserve tighthead the second most important. He believes though that Australia is getting away with murder in the scrums and that this is no longer the case. Commentators don't tend to be familiar with the front row (he must be omitting Brian Moore from this group) and so, like the game as a whole, the value of the front row has been greatly diminished.

Now he contends that the most important player on the pitch is the flyhalf and probably the second most important the halfback. He points to Carter's and Goosen's influence on the games last weekend and the hand Pienaar and Aaron Smith played in that too.

The flyhalf is often known as the playmaker and when a side lacks a good playmaker, the team can suffer. But so too could you argue the game suffers if you have a shoddy lineout or a weak scrum or a back three who can't catch a high ball.

Rugby is a team game and I don't buy into this notion that one position dictates the performance of the team. It's the collective effort and any passengers are set upon and their frailties are exploited by the opposition. Too often we place too much emphasis on individual effort and don't see how these individual parts are all integrated and rely on combinations with the players around those individuals. Carter and Smith can dictate play but only if their forwards in front of them do their job. Goosen changed the way SA played not so much by the position he played but through the type of player he is. But was he the most important player out there for SA last week? Not for me. What do you think?

Deans.

he was handicapped...

True.

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Commentators don't tend to be familiar with the front row (he must be omitting Brian Moore from this group)

And presumable Keith Wood, Phil Kearns and Sean Fitzpatrick?

As much as anything it sounds like he's rooting for a job when he says...

"Part of the problem is that at the moment there is not a single recognised commentator who has played in the front row and who can give any credible explanation or insight into what is happening in the darkest of battles in any professional sport in the world. If people don't understand, they cannot appreciate the battle."

Still, I do think it's a fair point that the scrum is being devalued. Referees struggle to know what's going on and the requirement for a hit makes it an awful lot harder for them (and the players).

Let's just go back to engage then push only when the ball goes in

anotherworldofpain wrote:

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Commentators don't tend to be familiar with the front row (he must be omitting Brian Moore from this group)

And presumable Keith Wood, Phil Kearns and Sean Fitzpatrick?

Or Phil Vickery, or John Smit ...

Man, more I think of it, how much wonger can someone be?

anotherworldofpain wrote:

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Commentators don't tend to be familiar with the front row (he must be omitting Brian Moore from this group)

And presumable Keith Wood, Phil Kearns and Sean Fitzpatrick?

They are pundits rather than commentators AWOP. But yes, he looks like he's trawling for a commentator job.

This is an utterly disgraceful performance by the Wall-a-bee front row. I cannot envisage a more woeful combination in world rugby...

Certainly good for the comedy.

anotherworldofpain wrote:

anotherworldofpain wrote:

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Commentators don't tend to be familiar with the front row (he must be omitting Brian Moore from this group)

And presumable Keith Wood, Phil Kearns and Sean Fitzpatrick?

Or Phil Vickery, or John Smit ...

Man, more I think of it, how much wonger can someone be?

Sure you dont mean wanger?

Oh sorry! I mean wronger. I only just noticing I spell this one wrong! Thanks for the tip!

There certainly is a lack of ex-front-rowers amongst the referees. Perhaps the IRB need to introduce specialist scrum refs, who are ex props, who run on just to adjudicate scrums!

(Disclaimer: I say 'run on' metaphorically. most ex props waddle)

...except for Biltong of course (who, by all accounts, is a Bronze Adonis of a man)

thanks mrfishpaste, my wife would fall of her chair from laughter and then cry herself to sleep dreaming of that Bronze Adonis.

Since the method of scrummaging has changedmI agree especially the "Front row dive"All any team can ask for is parity up front and the Ref being consistent to both sides.In many ways in the pro era the game has become NH orientated example back row specialist 6,7,8 plus two centres.Which is alien to Nz practice with the 5/8 system and loose forwards packing left and right copied by Oz etc.
Boks gameplan with minor variations has been the same for decades ,massive pack,kicking halves,goal kicker ,backs taking chances as they come.All Blacks has been as today only for about 10 years,one could argue 9 is the most important.You don`t get the ball from forwards to backs you don`t play often they did the tactical kicking too.Under the 5/8 system often it was 12 who was the playmaker.