Zoom zoom - who's the fastest Lion?

First topic message reminder :

While not always the most important aspect of a rugby player, speed is still a HUGE asset

So who is the fastest forward in the lions squad?

who is the fastest back?

How do they compare to the Ozzies?

I hear that Maitland can do the 100m in 10.8 apparently - which is seriously quick

munkian wrote:Because hes being brought up in a thread about speed ?...

Yes, he is extremely quick. A good asset to his all-round game. Which is excellent.

Heaven forbid I upset the rug by Gods with my blasphemy then

munkian wrote:Heaven forbid I upset the rug by Gods with my blasphemy then

Eh? You're just incorrect (and I think you actually know that and I guess I bit). No need for hyperbole.

Watching the Tigers game yesterday i would say that Tom Croft should be in one of the fastest lions.

Umm... 'in' them ?

munkian wrote:Because hes being brought up in a thread about speed ?...

So is Tipuric.

Not sure about 100m but Hogg in 2012 recorded 1.62 seconds for 10 metres and 3.86 for 30 and that was soon after he put on 6-7 kilo. I would say with all the conditioning he has had since he might well be faster

Seriously nippy

Cyril on 606v2 wrote:

munkian wrote:I prefer my flankers to tackle. jackal and carry rather than out of position on the wing

Croft is playing brilliantly at the moment. Why do you have to dredge up this out-of-date-not-true-anyway crud?

Umm, someone didn't watch Croft's all round game on Saturday. He hit breakdowns hard, made a try saving tackle, and bagged a peach of a try; leaving several Quins players in his wake.

Still, if your mind's made up about someone...

Although not on the Lions tour, Joe Simpson is the quickest player at Wasps. Not Wade or Varndell. Simmo also holds the world record for the quickest pass - 48mph I think.

Of the tourists, I reckon Maitland probably edges it in the speed stakes.

This discusion comes up every couple of years.

There are two aspects of "fast"

1. top speed
2. acceleration

The two are totally different. Did you evet play mario kart? Yoshi and the Princess had the best acceleration, Donkey Kong and Bowser had the best top speed.

Back to the real world.

Maitland, I beleive, has the best top speed
Hogg, I beleive, has the quickest acceleration

What you are therefore wanting as a coach is for Hogg to make that quick break out the line then after 20-30m offload to maitland to pull away

tigertattie wrote:This discusion comes up every couple of years.

There are two aspects of "fast"

1. top speed
2. acceleration

The two are totally different. Did you evet play mario kart? Yoshi and the Princess had the best acceleration, Donkey Kong and Bowser had the best top speed.

Back to the real world.

Maitland, I beleive, has the best top speed
Hogg, I beleive, has the quickest acceleration

What you are therefore wanting as a coach is for Hogg to make that quick break out the line then after 20-30m offload to maitland to pull away

3. Manoeuvrability.
4. Thought in flight.
5. Pass/offload ability.
6. Fully vaccinated against white line fever.

There are different types of speed. Maitland was probably a faster 100m sprinter than Shane Williams for example but I would class Williams as being easily quicker overall.

Adam Jones was interviewed earlier this season and asked if he was the strongest man in the wales squad. His reply included a comment that North bench pressed the biggest weights in the squad and was the fastest in the sprints.

Seagultaf wrote:Adam Jones was interviewed earlier this season and asked if he was the strongest man in the wales squad. His reply included a comment that North bench pressed the biggest weights in the squad and was the fastest in the sprints.

Maybe so but he was made to look pedestrian when Tommy Bowe waltzed past him at the weekend.

I al;ways think of two types of speed - over the ground and between the ears

Seagultaf wrote:Adam Jones was interviewed earlier this season and asked if he was the strongest man in the wales squad. His reply included a comment that North bench pressed the biggest weights in the squad and was the fastest in the sprints.

Probably makes sense. He's a big lad.. 16-17st and anyone heavier is either a prop with less muscle bulk or a Lock who have far longer arms (i.e. more difficult to complete a rep). Jamie Roberts should be up there too.

Then again someone like Sheridan who is the same height as the 2 above and about 2-3st heavier and mainly muscle will probably wipe the floor with the lot of them. But rugby isn't all about size and strength even though it tends to help.

They say there's no substitute for speed, and I suppose that's true, isn't it ?

However on a Lions tour, perhaps speed of thought is also important. I'm thinking BOD and Roberts working together in '09 etc etc. This kind of thing then helps to release the speedsters.

This is one of the things I keep trying to coach into junior players -always be alert and thinking about what happens next.

Going back further, some guy called Dean Richards, who was hardly the fastest, but always seemed to be in the right position on the field to cover.

Sorry, not the point of the thread. Perhaps as a prop, I'm influenced by not being the fastest on foot !

charliehesketh wrote:They say there's no substitute for speed, and I suppose that's true, isn't it ?

However on a Lions tour, perhaps speed of thought is also important. I'm thinking BOD and Roberts working together in '09 etc etc. This kind of thing then helps to release the speedsters.

This is one of the things I keep trying to coach into junior players -always be alert and thinking about what happens next.

Going back further, some guy called Dean Richards, who was hardly the fastest, but always seemed to be in the right position on the field to cover.

Sorry, not the point of the thread. Perhaps as a prop, I'm influenced by not being the fastest on foot !

England have another guy like that, just apparently hes not good enough for this batch of Lions..

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Seagultaf wrote:Adam Jones was interviewed earlier this season and asked if he was the strongest man in the wales squad. His reply included a comment that North bench pressed the biggest weights in the squad and was the fastest in the sprints.

Maybe so but he was made to look pedestrian when Tommy Bowe waltzed past him at the weekend.

Yes it was very easy wasn't it. Big George's form has fallen off a cliff in the last couple of games. His head is already on the plane. I hope it isn't all too much for him and he can regain focus. He just didn't look interested. It is easier to retain focus than to regain it in my experience, he is playing a dangerous game.

My guess would be Maitland or Cuthbert over the longer distances in terms of straight line speed, and Hogg and Halfpenny in terms of leave them for dead accelaration and footwork. Put a couple of brick walls in the way and you'd want North or Tuilagi to run through them, or Tommy Bowe to figure out a way round them.

In the forwards I'd expect Tipuric to be the man for the shorter distances, but in terms of out and out pace, Croft would have little competition.

In terms of ahtletes, power and speed, this is a very strong Lions squad. It's the footballing ability that has me worried, and that runs right the way through the team.

I'm not sure that Cuthbert is any quicker than Croft really. My guess would probably be Maitland.