Does playing in another position help develop your game?

Was just reading in the post about hookers, and one young player who had been a centre until his twenties and was then told to try out at hooker. Having played Centre for so long he will be able to pass well, pick good support lines and generally be amazing with ball in hand, like Brits. However would his lack of experience at hooker ultimately tell and affect his game?
Can anyone else think of internationals that started at one position and then moved to another?
Has anyone else found playing in a different position has made them a better player?

Fogive the rash answer to your question, but of course it would. I am a winger, I know at a pinch I can play FB, or centre. And I have played a couple of games back in the day at flanker too. But switching the any front row position or (for arguements sake i was 6'4 or 6'5) to second row I'll be at a major disadvantage as my peers will have much more experiecne and more crucially, coaching at their postions. The same way I'd expect a second row/hooker with Usain Bolt pace to suffer if converted to the wing.

Is the transition impossible? Of course not, but I trhink the leap from centre to hooker etc is much greater than turning or winger or FB into a 12.

Unless you mean League in which case it is defo something that could probably be accomplised within a single season.

Fester, aka, Keith Wood was a scrum half. I know.

While always a scrum half, TOL played a good chunk of his first caps for Munster on the wing (indeed, he has I think stated every single positon in the Munster backline at one stage or another. While he is going through what we shall politely refer to as an extended trough, when in form he is a t alented player that is very effective not just a fourth backrow.

Lomu was a backrow forward at one stage I think.

I'm off the opinion that as a prop specially lower levels you have to play both sides.

At the higher level you don't see it as much, but i think its a great advantage knowing both sides

I ask, as I started out as a prop and then moved to the flank. However my experience at prop means that come scrum time I know excatly what my prop wants in terms of drive.
Does anyone know if Sam Whitelock used to play as a back? For a second row he has fantastic hands.

Bannahan move from 2nd Row out to the wing is a pretty big move.
Brits aparently started his career in the back row.
There are plenty of 12/13's that have a crack at 10. And plenty of 15's that gradually move more to the pivot role.

Moves out of necessity (not permanent)
Nick Easter has been tried in the 2nd row for Quins (at a push it works, but probably not at international level).
Didnt Peter Richards pack down for England in the back row '07 WC final when we ran out of subs!

As a tighthead (at a low level) I consider myself to be pretty versatile.
Started at hooker, moved to no.1, then to no.3. Can cover all 3 at a push.
However there is a winger inside every prop thats just dying to get out.

Yeah. That's because you keep eating the wingers. Whole.

I played wing mostly but have played both centre positions, full back, scrum half and openside flanker once too. It didn't help me though I was rubbish .

I suppose it does help and I'm sure lots of players have played in different positions. Didn't Keith Wood start out as a fly half?

propdavid

Apart from being terrible at throwing into the line-out, I can cover every front row position, and that obviously makes me a useful option at lower levels with fewer subs.

What helped me was when I was 17 I couldn't play front row at senior level, so played lower down the club at 6. I think a season playing in the back row made me appreciate the game outside the scrum a little bit more, as now even at level 6 (the level I play at) you want more than just a scrummager and lifter at prop.

If a centre wants to switch to hooker than he has to work hard on his set piece, but if he can get up to scratch that extra dimension to his game would be a potent weapon. However, the younger you make the switch the better!

I think most of us started off laying all over the place and by the time you get into the serious stuff around 13-14 youve generally tried most positions at some point.

Usually your body shape, size, weight and speed ultimately determine where you go, especially at the top levels.

I ended up at 10 because I loved the kicking running passing game and there you got to do all 3. But I also loved halfback and Fullback for the same reasons. Jones was one who had to change positions as his knee restricted his pace so sometims it is fored on us through injury.

Ive even seen a right wing go to left wing after his right arm was amputated. Still played damn well too!

I started off as a really small kid playing everywhere. But when I hit early secondary school was 8/flanker. Now I'm a prop, but have alright hands and a decent head on me I guess, so yeah, i think that helped a bit. Shane Williams used to a be a scrumhalf. probably why he's so good at reading the game and being a playmaker in midfield at times.

It will prove profitable in some areas, but lack in positional dedication will probably mean you are less developed in others.

I started off as a forward, played across the frontrow, then at lock and between 12 & 15 years old was a flanker. Having started off as one of the bigger players, as everyone caught up with & then overtook me and as I increasingly became one of the fastest, I was shipped out to the wing. As a consequence I was probably the best defender in the backs, loved a good hit and got more than a few turnovers on players out wide, but you wouldn't want me passing long distance to my right and my kicking was never great (consequently making me a very attacking minded player catching in my 22).

I was under the impression that Banahan barely played at Second Row, and has pretty much always been a winger.

I think most positions now are becoming interchangeable.....except i would say the front row.

Certainly i think most people would say BOD could be a very good flanker. Schalk Brits could play centre, Lawes plays SR and flanker etc.

The easiest to interchange would be wing, FB and 13 i would say.

yes certianly can you learn to adapt your game and to do what players in other positions
a) wan't you to do help them play well
b) what opposition players in other positions hate you doing as it can put them off

GF i see you guys have signed goosen , he is a good player and can play lots of postions will be a big asset to you next year

JB,

Yeah but we have a few for that position and i was hoping the very talented young lad Catterick would get plenty of gametime this season.

I really do get puzzled with the Falcons management at times, for they seem to recruit in the positions that we have little gems from the accademy coming through etc, but neglect the areas where are really struggling and could do with some big signings......

Well Tana Umaga started as a winger and was good but made his name at 13

nganboy wrote:Well Tana Umaga started as a winger and was good but made his name at 13

You could even say he cemented his position at 12 much like Nonu has after doing the same as Umaga.

I played schoolboy rugby against Wesley College where Jonah Lomu was playing at 6. Their tactics were to give him the ball regardless of where he was on the pitch and then just jog back to their 22. I´d have loved to have seen him play at 8 or 6 for the All Blacks but kicking Zinny out was not going to happen and we would´ve been deprived of that steamroller try against England.

There´s quite a few wingers who are fullbacks and inside centres like Carter and Wilkinson who become flyhalfs and some ill-advised fullbacks for ABs who became centres.

I don´t think playing another position is better for your game. Look at a guy like Tait who has shifted around the backline and has taken on the utility tag and that´s done nothing for his game. Then the move inside worked for Nonu because the change in position shifted his abilities. So generally I don´t think it´s a good idea unless you can´t get into the A squad.

Foden and Alex Goode are both full backs who saw themselves as a scrum half and a fly-half respectively, but have reverted back to full backs. I think their ability to play these positions (although not at the highest level) do offer us a valuable option if the 9 or the 10 was trapped at the bottom of a ruck. Cipriani is another who played 15 before moving to 10, and some have suggested he switch back to 15.

Mathew Tait's problem was he was good enough at club level to play outside centre, wing or full back, never really cemented any position down and therefore couldn't really kick on well enough to develop into a top international class player at any of those positions. I think he's going to Leicester to play in the back 3, so hopefully he nails down 1 position and stays there, and maybe he could have another run at getting into the England team.

well to be honest if you start rugby at a young age you tend to move around alot, in my case at the age of 7, i started out as prop, then moved to hooker, and then as the age game changed i moved to second row, and now i play back row-mainly blindside.
its the same case for the backs, when you first start playing rugby you go winger, then you may move to fullback if you are a good tackler, or centre if you are a good crash ball guy etc i mean look at the likes of wilkinson, played centre for england for a bit then after gaining experience moved to fly half and if now one of the best in the world
i think that once you get into your late teens/early 20's you start to find your TRUE position. until then you tend to move around a bit but you yourself will know which is your best position

Interesting you say about a centre moving to hooker hence he was a good passer! Wales currently have two centres that can't pass, maybe J Davies should switch to hooker but there again you need to throw straight for the line out. I watched the B Moore challenge and J Davies scored zero and Roberts one but R Jones had around 13 messing around, maybe he should play scrum half!

Anyone here moved from the forwards to the backs? Find that the old forwards mentality helps their tackaling, rucking etc?

Personally i think that when you are young and learning the game it would be a good idea to classify yourself as one of the following Front Row, Back Five Forward, Half Back, or Back Five (Wide Back). The basic skills required for the different position (with those clasifications) are very similar. However I also think that it is important that once you have found a role that suits you within those groups that you should try and specialise in that area.

flankertye wrote:Anyone here moved from the forwards to the backs? Find that the old forwards mentality helps their tackaling, rucking etc?

Sadly when I played we had two flankers move into the backs (inside centre and fullback), but they did so to avoid having to get involved in the nitty gritty of forward work.

In answer to the original Q: Definitely.

I am predominantly a winger these days, but I played on the flank throughout my school days and will even play 6 if we're really struggling now.

It's easy to get left out of a game on the wing, nothing happens for 15 minutes and suddenly you are required to make a try saving tackle. It hurts more and occasionally get bounced off. If you're playing 6 there is no let up, it's contact, contact, contact. Your body is permanently preped for it and it doesn't hurt (for the most part!).

When I play wing now, I go looking for contact as early as possible. I'll hit a ruck (even if the ball is won), come inside screaming for the ball off the 12 etc etc. It makes the whole game more manageable, reduces the risk of injury and it's miles more fun. Even if you're not directly achieving anything, it's just makes for a better performance.

I believe it does. I started out as an out half and played there for a number of years. As I made the transition to back row forward and occasional hooker I found my distribution was better than most and while I may have been lighter I was more mobile.

robbo277 wrote:propdavid

Apart from being terrible at throwing into the line-out, I can cover every front row position, and that obviously makes me a useful option at lower levels with fewer subs.

What helped me was when I was 17 I couldn't play front row at senior level, so played lower down the club at 6. I think a season playing in the back row made me appreciate the game outside the scrum a little bit more, as now even at level 6 (the level I play at) you want more than just a scrummager and lifter at prop.

If a centre wants to switch to hooker than he has to work hard on his set piece, but if he can get up to scratch that extra dimension to his game would be a potent weapon. However, the younger you make the switch the better!

Robbo - There is a game outside the Scrum!

flankertye wrote:Yeah. That's because you keep eating the wingers. Whole.

This is true - if you can catch them, they are very satisfying to mosh.

I have played in every position baring s/h and the front three for at least the second team.

I started at lock at school, being 6'4" at 14 helped, fought my way into the back row by the time I was 16, by which time I was around 15 stone and upset the balance at lock.

I played at 6 or 8 until I was around thirty, then managed to munch a nerve in my shoulder in a car accident. It took a while to recover so I moved out to the wing as I was still quite quick and by then somewhat larger: found I was a success, then played around with the girls in the backs for the next 17 years. It's great to see the look on the oppositions face when a 6'4" 17+ stone winger or centre sets up opposite them.