Aaron Smith
I know it's a little late for this post, but if something was learned in 2014 is that Aaron Smith is miles ahead of TJ Perenara. Quickness-wise, no point in comparing. Smith is faster with his hands and passes better. He is also mentally faster and knows when to cut himself loose and go forward. But it is the kicking that really stands out. When he gets the ball out of a scrum or line, Aaron Smith throws a low toss and kicks with his leg held high, all in a fraction of a second. TJ tosses the ball high and waits till it gets down to kick it, a looong time in which he has the opposing flanker almost all over him. In fact, I am not at all convinced TJ is a good second option, based on what he has done in the Autumm window 2014.
One good thing is these two CAN be compared since they ride the same AB rig.
I know it's a little late for this post, but if something was learned in 2014 is that Aaron Smith is miles ahead of TJ Perenara. Quickness-wise, no point in comparing. Smith is faster with his hands and passes better. He is also mentally faster and knows when to cut himself loose and go forward. But it is the kicking that really stands out. When he gets the ball out of a scrum or line, Aaron Smith throws a low toss and kicks with his leg held high, all in a fraction of a second. TJ tosses the ball high and waits till it gets down to kick it, a looong time in which he has the opposing flanker almost all over him. In fact, I am not at all convinced TJ is a good second option, based on what he has done in the Autumm window 2014.
One good thing is these two CAN be compared since they ride the same AB rig.