Who has impressed you most?

[Millsy]

This is a bit of a general question, but I think the topic could provide for an interesting discussion/thread. So my question is, what player has impressed you the most, perhaps they have exceeded your expectations or maybe its an up and coming player or a veteran of the game. I was originally going to limit this to the Super Rugby competition, but I would like to hear answers in regards to the Domestic comps and International teams. While we're here I might as well put this question forward as well; What team has impressed you the most?

Here are the answers to my own question:

- Domestic Player: Damian McKenzie

- International Player: Dane Haylett-Petty

- Team: At a domestic level I have to say both the Chiefs and Crusaders have impressed me this season and they both have the record to prove it! At an international level I have to say I was impressed to see the way England was able to dismantle the Wallabies in the three game series :angry:

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Chris Robshaw's impressed me hugely in the way he came back from being dropped as Captain and all the criticism he was getting post RWC, to be a Man of the Series contender in a whitewash in Australia. That shows serious heart and determination.

 

[Millsy]

Good choice, always good to see a player rebound after copping a bit of heat.

Chris Robshaw's impressed me hugely in the way he came back from being dropped as Captain and all the criticism he was getting post RWC, to be a Man of the Series contender in a whitewash in Australia. That shows serious heart and determination.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Dylan Hartley, not many were happy about his choice as captain but he has kept it clean and been consistent in his games.

 

[TobesHodges]

Internationally: Maro Itoje - Mightly impressive for such a young age in a very tough position.

Domestically I have three:
Damien Mackenzie (Chiefs) - immense talent, rarely makes a mistake and can make something out of nothing.
Tiernan O'Halloran (Connacht) - Even at the age of 25 he's definitely been a bolter this season very good rugby player, anyone that watches pro12 will ditto this.
Rohan Janse van Rensburg (Lions) - 21 years old, he's bit of a unit at 12 and has a very good rugby brain one for the future if he carries on the way he has.

Karevi, Chat, McMahon, Farrell, Jantjes and probably more could have been on the list.. But my three top are those.

 

[Millsy]

Like the choices, can't say I have seen to much of the pro12 season this year.

Internationally: Maro Itoje - Mightly impressive for such a young age in a very tough position.

Domestically I have three:
Damien Mackenzie (Chiefs) - immense talent, rarely makes a mistake and can make something out of nothing.
Tiernan O'Halloran (Connacht) - Even at the age of 25 he's definitely been a bolter this season very good rugby player, anyone that watches pro12 will ditto this.
Rohan Janse van Rensburg (Lions) - 21 years old, he's bit of a unit at 12 and has a very good rugby brain one for the future if he carries on the way he has.

Karevi, Chat, McMahon, Farrell, Jantjes and probably more could have been on the list.. But my three top are those.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Dylan Hartley, not many were happy about his choice as captain but he has kept it clean and been consistent in his games.

Very good call. He wins it for me closely followed by ice man Farrell. Haskell's Indian summer is worthy of note and Cole also bounced back very well from the RWC as has Robshaw. The common link is of course Jones man management. Itoje has been brilliant but we'll only see what he's really made of when he has his first setback.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

- Domestic player: Another shout for Tiernan O'Halloran of Connacht, and his teammate Matt Healy (though I may simply be late to the party in appreciating him, I've not seen much club rugby until last season).

- International players:

Carlo Canna (Italian fly-half, very raw prospect but has done well under constant pressure given his absence of experience at the top level. Hard to judge his abilities in the running game given that he's always playing against far superior opposition but he looks the part and rarely makes the wrong decision.)

Liam Williams (Welsh fullback. Thought Williams was a bit crap when he first came into the Welsh side - but Halfpenny would seem a significant step down now to me).

Duncan Taylor (Scottish centre, facing tough competition but usually something special whenever he gets a chance which is hard in a team that rarely sets up a good platform for its backs)

Shigeno & Tamura (Japanese half back combo) - were ripping up Scotland for fun in the two tests this summer and don't look out of their depth in Super Rugby despite being on a poor team.

- Team domestic: Connacht again. Their ability to play tough, close rugby in horrible conditions at their home ground and rip up the competition in the wide open spaces of Murrayfield was a complete eye opener. Worth checking out Pro-12 final highlights from this year if you haven't seen it (although it's probably tame for anyone watching Super Rugby).

Plus Highlanders. I've only started watching Super Rugby the past couple of months and they look like they are on another planet. The average age of some of these NZ teams is also crazily low too and makes it all the more impressive. I can see that gap between NZ and the rest getting wider even though they've already just about broken the world rankings system!

- Team international - England (through gritted teeth! But what a transformation under Jones) & Georgia (going unbeaten in the Pacific despite having no domestic league and being largely shunned by their European neighbours, having very limited opportunity to test themselves and apparently little in the way of a competitive domestic club setup).

 

[Millsy]

I'll have to get onto these highlights right away!

- Domestic player: Another shout for Tiernan O'Halloran of Connacht, and his teammate Matt Healy (though I may simply be late to the party in appreciating him, I've not seen much club rugby until last season).

- International players:

Carlo Canna (Italian fly-half, very raw prospect but has done well under constant pressure given his absence of experience at the top level. Hard to judge his abilities in the running game given that he's always playing against far superior opposition but he looks the part and rarely makes the wrong decision.)

Liam Williams (Welsh fullback. Thought Williams was a bit crap when he first came into the Welsh side - but Halfpenny would seem a significant step down now to me).

Duncan Taylor (Scottish centre, facing tough competition but usually something special whenever he gets a chance which is hard in a team that rarely sets up a good platform for its backs)

Shigeno & Tamura (Japanese half back combo) - were ripping up Scotland for fun in the two tests this summer and don't look out of their depth in Super Rugby despite being on a poor team.

- Team domestic: Connacht again. Their ability to play tough, close rugby in horrible conditions at their home ground and rip up the competition in the wide open spaces of Murrayfield was a complete eye opener. Worth checking out Pro-12 final highlights from this year if you haven't seen it (although it's probably tame for anyone watching Super Rugby).

Plus Highlanders. I've only started watching Super Rugby the past couple of months and they look like they are on another planet. The average age of some of these NZ teams is also crazily low too and makes it all the more impressive. I can see that gap between NZ and the rest getting wider even though they've already just about broken the world rankings system!

- Team international - England (through gritted teeth! But what a transformation under Jones) & Georgia (going unbeaten in the Pacific despite having no domestic league and being largely shunned by their European neighbours, having very limited opportunity to test themselves and apparently little in the way of a competitive domestic club setup).