Hot: McCaw... Not: Goosen
It is time for Planet Rugby's weekly wrap of who has their name in lights right now...and who is making the headlines for the wrong reasons...
They're smokin'!
Richie McCaw: Winning 100 Tests is something which must rank as one of the greatest individual achievements in the history of the game. This feat has started a debate in some quarters whether the All Blacks captain is the greatest player of all time. And rightly so, we say.
Mike Harris: Despite playing out of position at full-back, in front of a hostile crowd, the Reds man led the charge with 20 points in the Wallabies' win over Argentina in Rosario.
Charlie Hodgson: The veteran pivot showed there was still plenty of fuel left in his tank as he notched all 28 points in Saracens' Premiership victory over London Welsh last weekend.
Waikato: The Mooloos ended Taranaki's lengthy stint as Ranfurly Shield holders in style with a convincing win at the Amber and Blacks' home ground.
Griquas: The Currie Cup's most unfancied team continued with their giant-killing act when they beat the high-riding Golden Lions in Kimberley. The win over the defending champions shows that previous wins over the Sharks and Blue Bulls was no fluke.
Get these guys a cup of warm soup!
South African Rugby Union and Australain Rugby Union: The mother bodies of the Springboks and Wallabies will have to do serious introspection regarding their decision not to follow the lead of the New Zealand Rugby Union by using the central contracting system. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has described it as one of the main reasons why his team completed the Rugby Championship with hardly any injuries. The Springboks and Wallabies, however, were decimated by casualties. Enough said.
Mont de Marsan: The Top 14 newbies have found the going tough and only have one point to show after eight matches. They have already conceded a staggering 240 points at an average of 30 points per game.
Zebre: Like Mont de Marsan the Italian outfit have struggled in their new surroundings. Still winless after five matches, Zebre boast a single point in the PRO12 standings, conceding 164 points at an average of 32 points per match.
Heyneke Meyer and Johan Goosen: Both should take the blame for allowing Goosen to stay on the field for about five minutes when he was clearly injured. During that time, Goosen missed the crucial tackle which allowed All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock to cross the whitewash.
By David Skippers
Comments
Sasquatch says...
Greatest player has to be a flyhalf in my humble opinion. Flyhalves win matches, not loose-forwards. DC gets my vote.
Posted 22:43 10th October 2012
Chubbylugs says...
@Bmakka8
You've forgotten josh kronfeld, who is probably the template for the modern openside
Posted 21:04 10th October 2012
nhb99 says...
@APV1
Hook, line & sinker, I'm afraid!
Posted 17:56 10th October 2012
BMakka8 says...
APV1 - there can't be any doubt he's having a laugh
I'm afraid that I just don't see McCaw as the greatest ever. I'm not even sure he's the greatest flanker ever. What about Michael Jones, JP Rives, Fergus Slatery, John Jefferies, Richard Hill, Neil Back, John Taylor, Wavel Wakefield.
It is obviously very difficult to compare players from different eras, but I'm afraid tha as good as he is, McCaw is far from the greatest.
Posted 17:37 10th October 2012
new_j4a says...
@froggy73, You are confused my fine French friend (but then what Frenchman isn't?) My team was eliminated by the dirty bastards in yellow in the RWC2011 Quarter Final....right about the time that the french team started their decidedly undeserved weaseling their way into the Final....and you're still waiting to win the RWC. The Boks have 2... :) :)
Posted 16:56 10th October 2012
bloemboy says...
I think Richie is an awesome player and certainly one of the best ever, though he has had the benefit of playing in a team of simply amazing talent. Dan Carter could also come very close to that title. Other candidates who have excelled, sometimes within good or even mediocre teams would include players such as Hugo Porta, Serge Blanco, Sean Fitzpatrick, Victor Matfield, Jonah Lomu, Os du Randt or Brian O'Driscoll. Each of these players have dominated their peers in their given position for extended periods of their careers, or have excelled despite being in an average team, becoming legends in their own right. Benchmarks for how the game should be played. Every kid wants to copy their style and surely there can be no greater flattery.
No one can compare Porta to McCaw or Carter to Du Randt because the demands of their positions were so different. McCaw may well be the best loosie of all time, but he definitely needs 14 others to play the game with.
Posted 16:50 10th October 2012
APV1 says...
@ nhb99 - now I'm a big fan of Borthwick, but really..? Please tell me I've taken the bait and you're just having a laugh!
Posted 16:28 10th October 2012
philipjfry says...
Ah of course, the light just went on. Thanks guys.
Posted 16:26 10th October 2012
chubbylugs says...
McCaw is a great player, no question. The greatest??
I'd imagine that NZ would have won the WC and the majority of 100 test matches whether he played or not such has been their dominance.
No, the greatest player ever has to be Jonah Lomu. no other player has made the same impact on the game as both a player and a commercial entity. He would easily be the most recognisable player to most rugby fans or non rugby fans.
he's also the only player to have a computer game named after him, so it must be true!
Posted 16:23 10th October 2012
nhb99 says...
Greatest player ever, anywhere in the history of the game? Got to be Steve Borthwick.
Posted 15:50 10th October 2012
froggy73 says...
@new_j4a: you should chill and relax. It's not because you won the WC last time (by one small point at home) that you will win it every time going forward. Remember how long you had to wait after 87'...
Posted 15:27 10th October 2012
geoff332 says...
@philipjfry because it allows the central body (the NZRFU in this case) to manage the players. All the players are contract to the NZRFU who then sub-contracts them down to their respective clubs/provinces/super teams. This arrangement allows the NZRFU to manage the player's workload and their recovery from injury - rather than rush them back (clearly, this will never work if it's completely dictatorial: the NZRFU has to negotiate with the other teams and, I am sure, doesn't always get it right).
In most other systems, the players are directly contracted to both club and country. This leads to inevitable conflicts between the demands of each group - and you see players rushed back from injury or overworked during the year, leading to more injuries, more serious injuries and more protracted recoveries.
@Trinats2
Zinny? Really. Great player, but I'm not sure he qualifies as the greatest number 8 New Zealand ever produced or the greatest player in the sides he played for. His career overlapped with Fitzy, Kirwan, Michael Jones... before them, you had Meads, Nepia, Lochore and a few others that rank right up there. And you can't forget Buck. And that's not going outside of New Zealand.
I do rate McCaw as the best I've ever seen play.
Posted 15:05 10th October 2012
APV1 says...
"Zebre: Like Mont de Marsan the Italian outfit have struggled in their new surroundings. Still winless after five matches, Zebre boast a single point in the PRO12 standings, conceding 164 points at an average of 32 points per match."
An excellent example of why HC qualification is rediculous and the French and English were right to hand in their notice.
Queue more trolls.
@ philipjfry - a central contract means that the Union decides which matches they play (depending on the contract, of course). As such, the players may be rested, so that they are fit and ready for the Test matches. The downside is the Union pays (most of) their salary and their club doesn't always have them available for crucial matches. The upside is the Test squad players are less likely to be injured (if, for no other reason, than they are spending fewer minutes in competative matches).
Posted 15:04 10th October 2012
fiwiboy says...
philipjfry, a central contracting system would allow the national union to dictate when a player can rest or play. A player's province/club's natural inclination is to play their internationals, regardless of how many tests they may have played. Good examples of this are David Pocock and Will Genia in Australia who played every game of Super rugby and Tests until their bodies gave out. With a central contracting system, the ARU could have told Genia not to play X number of games for Qld thereby forcing the province to find a backup for said player (increasing depth).
Posted 14:52 10th October 2012
new_j4a says...
@jmanngod , the question of whether he has ever been equaled is settled IMO. The interesting question is whether he ever will be equaled...hard to imagine, especially if he lasts another 3 years and takes the next RWC and another handful of RChs.
Posted 14:36 10th October 2012
olepete says...
Did Goosen miss Whitelock? It appeared to me that he was dragged over the line still hanging on.
Posted 14:01 10th October 2012
Kiwikev says...
Richie only wins because he cheats...Queue the trolls!
Posted 13:12 10th October 2012
Trinats2 says...
jmanngod:
For starters there is Zinzan Brooke, and I'm not sure but don't even think he is in the rugby Hall of Fame.
Zinzan was probably before your time !
Posted 12:55 10th October 2012
philipjfry says...
Not sure how a central contracting system will prevent injuries, can someone please explain it to me?
Posted 12:24 10th October 2012
melkdave says...
Well the cold side is ok,but M.Harris in the hot are you serious ,yes he kicked his penalties ,but did nothing else .My standards have definatly dropped from my day way back in the stone age ,if thats rated as a hot performance lol.
Posted 12:12 10th October 2012