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The end of Richie McCaw, George Smith and Schalk Burger?

There's plenty of talented opensides (and flankers in general) up and coming. At least from the Southern Hemisphere.

We have the promise of Brussouw, Latimer,L. Braid,G. Whitelock, A. Soakai, Adam Thomson. Those are just some of the kiwis, and number 7's to boot. I'm sure South Africa at least has just as many; and Australia ain't far behind.

BUT to say any of them will have the same career as McCaw?Possible, but McCaw is one of those rarities that don't come by often. Either way, expect many of these young flankers to be poached/stolen by the northern hemisphere. :rolleyes:
 
Well look how many you named. They're not all going to get to play for NZ. At some point they'll do a Holah, get bored of waiting and come up north for $$$$$$$$$$$
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jer1cho @ Aug 13 2009, 12:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Nickdnz @ Aug 13 2009, 11:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I would rate the closest player to McCaw in New Zealand is the very under rated Scott Waldrum, it is such a shame he got injured when he did, as I think he is a world class open side that hasn't been given the oppertuinities.[/b]

But he is SOOOOO Fat! I always think he looks like a prop when he runs. He could be the best prop on earth! But yeah, he is a fatty.

EDIT: I'm thinking of Thomas... are they related?


[/b][/quote]

They're brothers. It's actually a mystery for me why Thomas Waldrom hasn't been snatched by a team up north. He is a very good player imo.
 
Craig Ray writes for http://www.thetimes.co.za

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>
Jake White says he would pick Schalk Burger before Heinrich Brussow. The former Bok coach was giving his opinion on the current team ahead of the Test against Australia in Perth later this month.

Burger is serving an eight-week suspension for reckless play, and in his absence the diminutive Brussow has performed superbly for the Boks.

But White, who coached Burger from 2002, when the flanker was 19, says that Brussow does not offer the same qualities.

“If you’re going to change a side you have to ask yourself whether it will improve the side,†White told The Times.

“In the case of Schalk Burger it most definitely will.â€

“I wouldn’t have picked Brussow, but I also have to admit he has done well. But Schalk is one of the best players in the world and he has been one of the best for the past five years. He hasn’t suddenly become a bad player,†White said.

“I put a premium on the lineout and Burger will win that battle hands down over Brussow. He jumps well and the most overlooked aspect is the lifting he does at the lineout.

“Though I don’t use the term ‘fetcher’, for lack of a better word, Burger is able to do that job as well.

“Perhaps with the team at such an advanced stage of its development it can afford the luxury of having a flank the size of Brussow, but when I was coaching we certainly didn’t have that luxury.â€

Brussow is only 1.81m tall against Burger’s 1.96m. But the Free Stater has punched above his weight at the breakdown with both New Zealand’s Richie McCaw and Australia’s George Smith.

Both players are considered the best at the job and Brussow was able to make life uncomfortable for them.

But before recent matches against the Boks, McCaw and Smith agreed that South Africa would miss Burger’s physicality and while it never showed because Brussow was so effective, it indicates how highly rated Burger is by his peers.

“Schalk has been voted the best player in the world in the past, but would Brussow ever win that award? I doubt it,†White said. “It will be interesting to see if the coach selects him in Australia.

“It’s simply a question of ‘is he good enough or not?’ and if he isn’t, then why is he going on tour? Schalk has been selected to do a job and he should be allowed to do it.

“I’ve read reports that suggest Schalk might have to vie for a place with Juan Smith in the No7 shirt. If that’s the thinking, and I don’t know for sure that it is, then they’re mad.

“Why change something that isn’t broken? Schalk is an openside flank an Brussow is an openside flank and the choice must be between the two of them for the No6 jersey.â€[/b]

Wow...
 
Comments like that make it very clear that White was pushed at the right time. If he cant see the impact Brussow has had he is blind or clueless. Thank god for Eddie at the WC.
 
well if burger plays and south africa lose their next match, the choice will be clear
 
No it won't. Rugby isn't that simple. The only thing it would (possibly) "prove" would be that they should have fielded short stuff from the start, which is easily remedied by having him on the bench.
 
I still rate McCaw as the best with Smith not far behind. I never really compared Burger with ritchie and smith as he plays completely different to them.burgers still a great player though and a choice between him and brussow will purely be based on gameplans against specific teams.
Pocock has a long way to go before coming anywhere near displacing smith with the 7 jersey. I would actually rate waugh ahead of pocock as well but from what i can see, the reason pocock is ahead of waugh in the wallabies squad is purely to begin the succession plan and blooding him into replacing smith one day.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Nickdnz @ Aug 4 2009, 06:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Fushitsusha @ Aug 4 2009, 07:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
George Smith has never outplayed Richie McCaw?

Not true... there have been several matches where Smith has come out on top and was definitely the better player in the early stages of their careers, but it's true that McCaw has been consistently no. 1 in that position since around 2004/2005

However, Smith was the best openside in the Super 14 this year... and took out ANOTHER Australian Super 14 player of the year award...
Pococok was also completely schooled by Smith when the Force beat the Brumbies this year...

And none of the other opensides in Australia will take over from Smith while he's still around...

It'll be interesting to see what happens when Smith takes on Brussow this weekend...[/b]
Is that hard to win? :p
[/b][/quote]

Front up to a couple of games and you pretty much get given it ;)
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Haj @ Aug 15 2009, 02:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
Pocock has a long way to go before coming anywhere near displacing smith with the 7 jersey. I would actually rate waugh ahead of pocock as well but from what i can see, the reason pocock is ahead of waugh in the wallabies squad is purely to begin the succession plan and blooding him into replacing smith one day.[/b]

Do you think Deans was doing the same thing with Matt Hodgson before he was injured after Rocky Elsom retires (i know he hasn't been picked in the starting team i i think he is in tri-nations squad and must be picked at dsome point), or is Richard Brown better?
 
Rocky Elsom is a very good player but he tends to give away stupid penalty's that cost his team... Like Troy Flavell they tend to have brain farts
 
Mccaw hands down is the best flanker in the world. His work around the field is unmatched (tackling, running, breakdown work he even gets back to the kick). He makes countless breaks still (against aus and SA a few times this year alone) , he does the hard metres like andrew hore in the pick and drives he barely misses tackles. To say that Brussouw outplayed mccaw is fair in one aspect and thats at the breakdown (barely), Brussouw made it look good because SA would turn the pilfer into something decent while NZ would drop the ball the next set or kick it out or w/e. The referees in SA were horrible, both NZ and Aus hard done by the referee. if anyone remembered in the super 14, brussouw was one of the most penalised forwards in the competition, he was yellow carded and repeatedly gave away penalised against the chiefs but then another week he would go through the game pilfering 3 times or so and have a blinder (clearly referee plays big part in the game of a no7). Smith is a different sort of flanker, his cleaning out is not on par with mccaw, he likes to link up with the backs alot which isnt too bad but his pilfering skills are the best (game against france still proves he can do it) i dont think hes up to the standard of mccaw. Schalk ive always seen as giving alot of penalties away, but he is still a great player and very aggressive he is a big part of the SA, id like to see him at blindside (yes even if jake white goes against it) he plays like one, why not put him there?

All in all, mccaw is the superior no7 because his running skills, workrate and his breakdown (whether hes pilfering or cleaning out and causing a turnover). Brussouw still got a long way to go in terms of an allround great no7 (pilfering skills are like a young george smith)
 
Brussouw, Potgieter, Deysel, Koster :bravo:

Give these guys 2 more years and theyll be amazing!!
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ChrisMoufflon @ Aug 30 2009, 02:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
Brussouw, Potgieter, Deysel, Koster :bravo:

Give these guys 2 more years and theyll be amazing!![/b]

duane vermeulen also??? i hear him or potgieter could play blindside in years to come.
 
I'll make my judgement on Brussouw at the end of the Tri-Nations next year.....see how he copes with the 2nd year syndrome.

But I'd still pick him ahead of Burger (White is probably shagging Burger's hot sister).
 
I'm with The Jackal

I think Brussouw is a awesome player. A player on top of his game.
But it is the second year that really counts.

Another thing we must take into account is the sides these players play for.

Brussouw is in the number 1 team in the world. It's like a 1,000,000 caps between them :lol:

as for McCaw and Smith it's a different story.

8 weeks without rugby and a young gun playing like a monster. Hopefully this will give Burger motivation to get back to his best.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hendrico @ Sep 10 2009, 07:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
I'm with The Jackal

I think Brussouw is a awesome player. A player on top of his game.
But it is the second year that really counts.

Another thing we must take into account is the sides these players play for.

Brussouw is in the number 1 team in the world. It's like a 1,000,000 caps between them :lol:

as for McCaw and Smith it's a different story.

8 weeks without rugby and a young gun playing like a monster. Hopefully this will give Burger motivation to get back to his best.[/b]

Also, he's been noticeably absent in the past couple of test matches.

I have a feeling that he might get absolutely schooled by McCaw on the weekend if the AB's pack lift their game.

It'll be interesting to see how he goes in the next Super 14... this year he wasn't up there with the best opensides in the tournament...
 
In order to rate flankers you have to look at what they bring to the game, which I believe McCaw bring much more then Brussouw, is not in terms of the break down, then surley in terms of leadership. So as well as McCaw being considered a great all round flanker, it is really important not to forget how much he boosts the team as a leader, which I believe to be of more value to his game then his amazing rucking work. If you rate players purley on their skill levels, then John Smit, wouldn't be highly rated, however because of his leadership he is considered one of the best front rows in the world.
 

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