AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass
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@mn5 said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
There. That should be all that needs to be said on the matter. I’ve extended my range just so some old timer can wank on about Pinetree but this should exclude any jockey sized midfielders from days gone by who would ( as you allude to ) get rag dolled.
Play the game in Pinetree's era, and transport the players back. See how they cope with getting smacked in teh face, playing with heavy boots, and leather balls that are like bars of soap. Honestly, it was a different sport back then. The mental toughness of the old timers was next level though, Meads is an AB in any era, just a monster
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@nzzp said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
@mn5 said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
There. That should be all that needs to be said on the matter. I’ve extended my range just so some old timer can wank on about Pinetree but this should exclude any jockey sized midfielders from days gone by who would ( as you allude to ) get rag dolled.
Play the game in Pinetree's era, and transport the players back. See how they cope with getting smacked in teh face, playing with heavy boots, and leather balls that are like bars of soap. Honestly, it was a different sport back then. The mental toughness of the old timers was next level though, Meads is an AB in any era, just a monster
I mean hell, watch any game before the professional era and its a completely different sport.
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@nzzp said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
@mn5 said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
There. That should be all that needs to be said on the matter. I’ve extended my range just so some old timer can wank on about Pinetree but this should exclude any jockey sized midfielders from days gone by who would ( as you allude to ) get rag dolled.
Play the game in Pinetree's era, and transport the players back. See how they cope with getting smacked in teh face, playing with heavy boots, and leather balls that are like bars of soap. Honestly, it was a different sport back then. The mental toughness of the old timers was next level though, Meads is an AB in any era, just a monster
Meads would be a 6 today or even a 12 - he had the skills for it. And he'd probably be no.1 on the team sheet or thereabouts.
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Hypothetical,
I wonder where Carl Hayman would fit in in these discussions if he had hung around longer ?
It was bloody good while it lasted
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@victor-meldrew said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
@winger said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
The whiteboard session that proved Ma'a Nonu as an All Blacks great
Everyone knows about the greatness of former All Blacks midfielder Ma'a Nonu on the field, but few know the impact he made off the park.
It was pretty obvious Ma'a was a keen student of the game if you look at how he developed over the years. Certainly no-one's fool rugby-wise
Pretty happy with Bruce Robertson at 13. He's still the standard for an old bugger like me - think Conrad Smith but better and a bit more skilful. Could drop a goal from 40m if you needed him to.
Couldn’t agree more.
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@sparky said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
@sparky said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
@sparky said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
Always tough to compare players from different eras. I can only really compare players I've seen live which rules out anyone who played before 1983. Based on what I've seen. My All Black greatest forward pack would be.
- Tony Woodcock
- Sean Fitzpatrick
- Olo Brown
- Brodie Retallick
- Sam Whitelock
- Jerome Kaino
- Richie McCaw
- Buck Shelford
- Aaron Smith
- Daniel Carter
- Ma'a Nonu
- Frank Bunce (who the Breakdown didn't even shortlist).
11 Jonah Lomu
14 John Kirwan
15 Christian Cullen -
Cully, Brooke, Jones and Fitzy are all too small to be the best now. They would all be rag-dolled.
It's entirely relevant to the point that I'm arguing, which is that pretty much everyone in the best ever AB team played in the last 10 years.
That is utter garbage. Are you a teenager who did not see rugby pre 2010? The skillsets of some of the earlier greats like Cullen, Wilson and Brooke were so obvious. The game is so dumbed down now to be all about power and size. Yet Cheslin Kolbe is still an OK player and Aaron Smith is not too bad. Even Lomu might get a game and not get ragdolled.
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I dont really remember Robertson as it was a bit before my time, but with respect to Snakey I can say that I saw him play for NZ universities in Hamilton and he was so easily the classiest the player on the park. He was just electric at gliding through gaps and distributing to make others look better.
As a combination, I dint think you can go past those two.
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@pakman said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
@victor-meldrew said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
@winger said in AB Greatest 15 Rugby Pass:
The whiteboard session that proved Ma'a Nonu as an All Blacks great
Everyone knows about the greatness of former All Blacks midfielder Ma'a Nonu on the field, but few know the impact he made off the park.
It was pretty obvious Ma'a was a keen student of the game if you look at how he developed over the years. Certainly no-one's fool rugby-wise
Pretty happy with Bruce Robertson at 13. He's still the standard for an old bugger like me - think Conrad Smith but better and a bit more skilful. Could drop a goal from 40m if you needed him to.
Couldn’t agree more.
Check out a 20 year old BR at 9.23:
