The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen
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@nzzp said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Billy-Tell said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
Man there’s some revisionism here.
Possum in a headlights early on and never ever seemed to go through an AB match without some sort of handling error, dropped ball etc.
He probably would have been better with age but he wasn’t a major loss like losing a player at the peak of his powers.
so why would Hansen identify him as the most talented player he's ever seen?
Never said he wasn’t talented. Just didn’t perform to an amazing level despite all that talent.
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@Billy-Tell said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@nzzp said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Billy-Tell said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
Man there’s some revisionism here.
Possum in a headlights early on and never ever seemed to go through an AB match without some sort of handling error, dropped ball etc.
He probably would have been better with age but he wasn’t a major loss like losing a player at the peak of his powers.
so why would Hansen identify him as the most talented player he's ever seen?
Never said he wasn’t talented. Just didn’t perform to an amazing level despite all that talent.
Which is why shag has accepted responsibility, thrown in when he wasn’t really up to it , selection error , and probably lessons learned for how they develop the likes of Brodie as a comparison
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@kiwiinmelb said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Billy-Tell said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@nzzp said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Billy-Tell said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
Man there’s some revisionism here.
Possum in a headlights early on and never ever seemed to go through an AB match without some sort of handling error, dropped ball etc.
He probably would have been better with age but he wasn’t a major loss like losing a player at the peak of his powers.
so why would Hansen identify him as the most talented player he's ever seen?
Never said he wasn’t talented. Just didn’t perform to an amazing level despite all that talent.
Which is why shag has accepted responsibility, thrown in when he wasn’t really up to it , selection error , and probably lessons learned for how they develop the likes of Brodie as a comparison
As I said before, he was electric at FB for the Canes in his first year. He went into MF not that long after IIRC. I felt that if he had been allowed to stay at 15 for a few seasons, where he had more time, his option taking would have developed better
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And I think the article is meant to be more about coaching/selecting decisions than toeava himself ,
Toeava is an example of where they got it wrong
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@nzzp said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Billy-Tell said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
Man there’s some revisionism here.
Possum in a headlights early on and never ever seemed to go through an AB match without some sort of handling error, dropped ball etc.
He probably would have been better with age but he wasn’t a major loss like losing a player at the peak of his powers.
so why would Hansen identify him as the most talented player he's ever seen?
Did he though... Is that what he actually said?
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@Bones said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@nzzp said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Billy-Tell said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
Man there’s some revisionism here.
Possum in a headlights early on and never ever seemed to go through an AB match without some sort of handling error, dropped ball etc.
He probably would have been better with age but he wasn’t a major loss like losing a player at the peak of his powers.
so why would Hansen identify him as the most talented player he's ever seen?
Did he though... Is that what he actually said?
You know you can read the article right?
"I look at Isaia Toeava as one of those. He was probably the most talented rugby player I've ever seen and we put him in the team too early.“
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@Billy-Tell said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
Man there’s some revisionism here.
Possum in a headlights early on and never ever seemed to go through an AB match without some sort of handling error, dropped ball etc.
He probably would have been better with age but he wasn’t a major loss like losing a player at the peak of his powers.
Talk about revisionism. What an absolute crock of shite. He spilt the ball a few times early on and you want to put that bullshit on him for the rest of his career in NZ.
He performed well many times including MoTM performances including coming on against SA at 12 replacing Nonu and completely turning the game around for the ABs.
Yes, his time was cut too short by injury (from memory, a really nasty hip injury which required very specialist care) and yes it was certainly impacted by his ability to play in almost any position.
I do agree with those who say he was a bit overawed in his first outings in Black but he settled in and played well in most outings. And sure, the GoaT aside, most players have off matches, just look at the first half of the Namibia match.
For the Cantab Goodhue fanbois, how many dropped balls from him since returning from injury?
And here's another article from the Herald about Ice from his own point of view focusing on his injuries.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12238517
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@RoninWC said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
Yes, his time was cut too short by injury (from memory, a really nasty hip injury which required very specialist care) and yes it was certainly impacted by his ability to play in almost any position.
amazing that he's still playing.. i remember seeing him in the adidas clinic when i was having shoulder issues and my surgeon then was saying how completely farked his hips were and he'd be lucky to keep playing. That was a long time ago now.. must be close to 10 years.
Be dropping the voltarens like lollies! -
@Kirwan said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
You know you can read the article right?
"I look at Isaia Toeava as one of those. He was probably the most talented rugby player I've ever seen and we put him in the team too early.“
Been reading this purely to wait for you to wade in .... disappointment honestly, expected much more
#isidewithdavidav
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@RoninWC well played. I am continually amazed at the ability of this place to put a subtle Cantab dig in random threads. It really is a thing of beauty.
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@Crazy-Horse said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@RoninWC well played. I am continually amazed at the ability of this place to put a subtle Cantab dig in random threads. It really is a thing of beauty.
We do aim to please and never disappoint.
But that does have to be balanced with the old adage to "always leave 'em wanting more" -
@MajorRage said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Kirwan said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
You know you can read the article right?
"I look at Isaia Toeava as one of those. He was probably the most talented rugby player I've ever seen and we put him in the team too early.“
Been reading this purely to wait for you to wade in .... disappointment honestly, expected much more
#isidewithdavidav
Not much else to say, handled properly (like Hansen said) he’d have been a superstar.
I’m still annoyed the NZRU blocked him coming back to the Blues a few years ago, he’d have been very useful for us.
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@Kirwan said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@MajorRage said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Kirwan said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
You know you can read the article right?
"I look at Isaia Toeava as one of those. He was probably the most talented rugby player I've ever seen and we put him in the team too early.“
Been reading this purely to wait for you to wade in .... disappointment honestly, expected much more
#isidewithdavidav
I’m still annoyed the NZRU blocked him coming back to the Blues a few years ago, he’d have been very useful for us.
Or more broken..... (or was that when your lot wasn't pants?)
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@Hooroo said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Kirwan said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@MajorRage said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Kirwan said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
You know you can read the article right?
"I look at Isaia Toeava as one of those. He was probably the most talented rugby player I've ever seen and we put him in the team too early.“
Been reading this purely to wait for you to wade in .... disappointment honestly, expected much more
#isidewithdavidav
I’m still annoyed the NZRU blocked him coming back to the Blues a few years ago, he’d have been very useful for us.
Or more broken..... (or was that when your lot wasn't pants?)
Wasn't that before Toeava debuted ?!?
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@Kirwan said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@MajorRage said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Kirwan said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
You know you can read the article right?
"I look at Isaia Toeava as one of those. He was probably the most talented rugby player I've ever seen and we put him in the team too early.“
Been reading this purely to wait for you to wade in .... disappointment honestly, expected much more
#isidewithdavidav
Not much else to say, handled properly (like Hansen said) he’d have been a superstar.
I’m still annoyed the NZRU blocked him coming back to the Blues a few years ago, he’d have been very useful for us.
Still disappointed. Been a few criticisms of him on this thread. What happened to you over the years?
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@Kirwan said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Bones said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@nzzp said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Billy-Tell said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
Man there’s some revisionism here.
Possum in a headlights early on and never ever seemed to go through an AB match without some sort of handling error, dropped ball etc.
He probably would have been better with age but he wasn’t a major loss like losing a player at the peak of his powers.
so why would Hansen identify him as the most talented player he's ever seen?
Did he though... Is that what he actually said?
You know you can read the article right?
"I look at Isaia Toeava as one of those. He was probably the most talented rugby player I've ever seen and we put him in the team too early.“
There's an article?
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@broughie said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
He certainly was a talent. Fantastic to watch. Copped a lot of shit for little reason and played any position he was asked to (how many players are good enough to do that?). I could understand Shags comments.
I can't agree with all of that. Talent yes. But he looked like he had little time at test level and often made mistakes he didn't make at Super level
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@kiwiinmelb said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Billy-Tell said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@nzzp said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
@Billy-Tell said in The most talented rugby player Shag has ever seen:
Man there’s some revisionism here.
Possum in a headlights early on and never ever seemed to go through an AB match without some sort of handling error, dropped ball etc.
He probably would have been better with age but he wasn’t a major loss like losing a player at the peak of his powers.
so why would Hansen identify him as the most talented player he's ever seen?
Never said he wasn’t talented. Just didn’t perform to an amazing level despite all that talent.
Which is why shag has accepted responsibility, thrown in when he wasn’t really up to it , selection error , and probably lessons learned for how they develop the likes of Brodie as a comparison
Kieran Read also a classic example. The cartel even said at the time that they were deliberately holding off on picking him when he was first knocking on the door.
