<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Melhor Time @ Sep 8 2009, 06:40 PM)
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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gingergenius @ Sep 8 2009, 01:07 PM)
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10. Carter
No real argument.[/b]
So getting injured in January and not returning until August is not a real argument?
Without question, he has not played enough to merit selection as the best 10 of 2009. Stephen Jones and Juan Martin Hernandez are the top two with Giteau and Contepomi as the next choices. My choice is based on leading his team to a win vs England when all senior backs were missing and his club play during 2009 which was with a group of largely poor backs. Since he left the team has dropped away sharpely. Contepomi was superb for Leinster but never played a test. He has without doubt, played better for often than Carter this year. Carter is an outstanding player but if we are to pick based on game time then he is certainly not near the top flyhalf of the year. Give him games between now and December and this should change but for now he should not even be considered. Similarly, is Rocky Elson to be considered? Well he played much more than Carter in the European season where he was clearly the best 6 and has played as often for Australia this year as Carter has for New Zealand. Surely this is, therefore a diferent scenario.
I am leaving out a number of Irish players for the share fact that they hardly ever played Magners League matches. Other players played more often and continued to do so at an elite level. Medard for instance played to the level of Kearney during the 6 Nations and Heineken Cup but also did so during the Top 14, unlike Kearney who, like most Irish players was rested.
15 Medard (Toulouse / France)
14 Nalaga (Clermont / Fiji)
13 O´Driscoll (Ireland)
12 Roberts (Wales)
11 Bowe (Ospreys / Ireland)
10 Hernandez (Sharks / Argentina)
9 Du Preez (Bulls / South Africa)
8 Parisse (SF / Italia)
7 Dusautoir (Toulouse / France)
6 Elsom (Leinster / Australia)
5 Matfield (Bulls / South Africa)
4 Nallet (MR Paris / France)
3 Murray (Northampton / England) - the hardest choice.*
2 du Plessis (Sharks / South Africa) 1 Woodcock (Blues / New Zealand)
* Smit certainly has not been the best. Choosing him is simply ignoring scrums. Others to consider are Vickery, Castrogiovaani, Mas and Scelzo. None have been as consistent but the choice is hard given injury. Without doubt loosehead prop has seen many better players this year. The Beast , Ayerza and Roncero have all been better than all players in the tighthead category.
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Fair enough but I thought Medard had a fairly poor 6 Nations. I remember thinking before each match....today he'll rip 'em to shreds. And he didn't. I'd pick Delon Armitage ahead of Medard and I don't think Nallet had a great season eiter
