rugby postions and weight

[big rugby fan]

okay so i play prop and i was having a talk with my dad about rugby the other day and he said he thinks the futur of rugby is it getting faster he also thinks that forwards will get lighter and be more like the same weight as league like say 16 stone props instead of 18 stone props at first i was kinda laughing but really could it happen ?? thoughts and whenu think about it it might make the game more entertaining to watch and perhaps be for the best ?

 

[big ginger 8]

Rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes (even if at pro level the small guys are still big by normal standards) so no I don't think it would make it better. Also doubt it will happen the bulk is needed come scrum time and prop like Cian Healy have shown you can be big and mobile.

 

[nickdnz]

The French tend to have very light props - who are also very strong scrummagers. With that said - if there has been one tendancy over the last 50 years, it's rugby players all becoming a lot bigger. I tend to agree that slightly smaller props have been recently picked for national teams, but by smaller I still mean 6'2'' and around 112kgs - with a different skill set and physique to League props.

 

[The_Wol]

Well I'm 5'11 (I think) and 70kgs, playing halfback, which would be considered tiny by professional standards but then you have Aleksander Yanyushkin who plays for Russia and he is 5'4 (or something around there) and 70kgs playing halfback and he was considered one of the best performers for Russia during the World Cup. So size really isn't as much of an issue I'd say the bigger issue is skill and guts.

 

[big rugby fan]

new age rugby

i was having a talk with my dad and he recons in the next few years we will see big changes in rugby union he said he would like to see a rugby where instead of having big 18 -19 stone props but have 16 stone props at first i thought it was stupid but it would speed the game up and if you look at the games fromt eh 60 and 70 most props only weighed about 15 16 stone and it worked ...i know you can argue that with mucle you can weigh more but being lighter you would increase the speed of the game and the players would no longer come under the stigma of being fat ? could it ever happen and would it benefit the game

 

[rays_rugby]

Rugby will change, yes, but the days of 16 stone props are over. The forwards of the 60's and 70's were much smaller men because they weren't full time professionals and the sport science was just not there yet. In those days 18 stone was gigantic. Nowadays that's par for the course.

As mentioned, you need only look at Cian Healy to see the prototype physique for the modern prop. He's nearly 18 stone and I challenge you to call him fat. France already field the smallest props at international level and even they never dip below 17 stone. In fact if you look at current trends the props are getting bigger. The French have recently fielded positively massive props at the u20 level and with the success of the likes of Carl Hayman, Dan Cole, and Soane Tonga'uiha, big lads of 6'2" and 6'3" are being encouraged to play prop rather than the back row.

While your father might be right that the speed of the game will increase, the nature of the set piece and strength of professional athletes dictates that huge men will always be required at the highest level. If South Africa is going to churn out forwards of the likes of Eben Etzebeth (6'8" 19st) who are fast as well as massive, the rest of the world must keep pace.

 

[big rugby fan]

thanks guys really apreciate the answers !!

 

[RedruthRFC]

The only way I can see this happening is if law changes reduce the significance of the scrum as a contest. Personally I don't think it would make the game any better as a spectacle - you're effectively adding two extra back row forwards to slow ball down.