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International Test Matches
5 vital players for each country ahead of the world cup?
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<blockquote data-quote="Peat" data-source="post: 734575" data-attributes="member: 42330"><p>I'm not dismissing him as a player; I'm dismissing his ability to fit easily into other teams' units. As you say, it's all about balance, and Robshaw's skillset is an odd one to balance - tell the truth, I don't think England have done a good job of doing that really. Which is sorta an odd thing to say, as he does most things, but he misses out on the specialised areas, those that mainly come from extraordinary athleticism. </p><p></p><p>But, having said that, I am going to dismiss him a little because he lacks the skillset of more specialised players. Ultimately, in international rugby, as long as you do nothing badly, it's better to do a few things incredibly well than everything really well. Or so I believe at any rate. Three players each doing something incredibly well is the ideal balanced back row. Of course, what's even better is doing a lot of things incredibly well.</p><p></p><p>For me, where Robshaw excels most is his intelligence; he very rarely makes a mistake and is very alive to half-opportunities. It makes him fantastic around the breakdown, both in terms of scragging scrum-halves and at spotting gaps in the guard. Not many rash offloads either. Incredibly consistent too. What he needs around him are exceptional gamebreaking athletes, by and large. I'd improve on your Tipuric/Morgan suggestion with Croft/Vunipola, personally. Croft brings the raw pace and wide support that Robshaw lacks, plus he brings the lineout ability; Vunipola is the ice-breaker and destructive tackler that Robshaw isn't. It's short a specialised ballhog, but every member can perform the role if it's on, which I find myself preferring these days (at least, when I can't pick three specialised ballhogs, and we are talking England here soooo...) but elsewise I really like it. Morgan on the bench to punish people when the game opens up.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Peat, post: 734575, member: 42330"] I'm not dismissing him as a player; I'm dismissing his ability to fit easily into other teams' units. As you say, it's all about balance, and Robshaw's skillset is an odd one to balance - tell the truth, I don't think England have done a good job of doing that really. Which is sorta an odd thing to say, as he does most things, but he misses out on the specialised areas, those that mainly come from extraordinary athleticism. But, having said that, I am going to dismiss him a little because he lacks the skillset of more specialised players. Ultimately, in international rugby, as long as you do nothing badly, it's better to do a few things incredibly well than everything really well. Or so I believe at any rate. Three players each doing something incredibly well is the ideal balanced back row. Of course, what's even better is doing a lot of things incredibly well. For me, where Robshaw excels most is his intelligence; he very rarely makes a mistake and is very alive to half-opportunities. It makes him fantastic around the breakdown, both in terms of scragging scrum-halves and at spotting gaps in the guard. Not many rash offloads either. Incredibly consistent too. What he needs around him are exceptional gamebreaking athletes, by and large. I'd improve on your Tipuric/Morgan suggestion with Croft/Vunipola, personally. Croft brings the raw pace and wide support that Robshaw lacks, plus he brings the lineout ability; Vunipola is the ice-breaker and destructive tackler that Robshaw isn't. It's short a specialised ballhog, but every member can perform the role if it's on, which I find myself preferring these days (at least, when I can't pick three specialised ballhogs, and we are talking England here soooo...) but elsewise I really like it. Morgan on the bench to punish people when the game opens up. [/QUOTE]
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5 vital players for each country ahead of the world cup?
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