Springboks v Wallabies
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Not quite on topic, but I was at a Champagne party here in Tokyo last week (event for next year's WC), and Vermeulen and a bunch of others were there. He's a nice guy and a massive unit. I was talking with a Japanese prop (who spent some time at Waikato from Ricoh @Bovidae ) and he was small next to Vermeulen. Crazy.
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@crucial said in Springboks v Wallabies:
@pakman said in Springboks v Wallabies:
Wallabies no longer seem to produce 'thinking' backs, which gave them an edge in parts of the 80s/90s.
Throw Lynagh in his prime into that team on Saturday and I think they go close. Add Gregan/Farr Jones and Larkham/Horan and they win for me. Beale is mercurial but to me doen't have what it takes at 10. Foley a better game manager, but wooden.
Contrast Boks, where Pollard is growing into a very good operator and helps a lot of things to happen.Larkham? I think he’s part of the problem with this team himself. Too stilted and pre-planned in attack like the brumbie ball sides he used to play in.. the game has moved in but he hasn’t
As coach, can't disagree. But I have to say that my impression was that on the pitch Larkham was very good at playing what was in front of him. My dislike of him was up there with Gerrie Gemishuys! Still relish one game when he was playing fullback and he ghosted through Blues pack and slipped behind one of them only to meet the Iceman, who DESTROYED him. End of runs back into the forwards!
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I've played with Larkham and it's amazing how much time he seems to have on the field. He reinforces my opinion of tremendously talented players don't make great coaches. I think that's because they assume a level of skill, calmness and awareness that other players don't have.
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@african-monkey said in Springboks v Wallabies:
@gt12 Hiroshi Yamashita?
I don't think he ever played for Waikato, and is a Kobelco Steelers player.
I'm not sure who @gt12 is referring to.
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I thought you might have guessed, but he wasn't playing that high - maybe Waikato development?
Anyway, his name is Kotaro Yoshimura . He played for three clubs while he was in the Waikato, I think (I'd had a few, but I'm think University, Marist and Leamington).
Super nice kid who loves NZ and his footy.
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@antipodean said in Springboks v Wallabies:
I've played with Larkham and it's amazing how much time he seems to have on the field. He reinforces my opinion of tremendously talented players don't make great coaches. I think that's because they assume a level of skill, calmness and awareness that other players don't have.
Good point.
I used to watch the Brumbies doing their pre-season training and right back pre xmas they were concentrating on patterned plays off calls just as the Wobblies seem to do now. They would get out the playbook NFL style and walk everyone through a multi phase sequence like they were choreographing a dance routine then slowly speed it up each time.
It's a style that served McQueen, Larkham and the Brumbies well and produced results until defences concentrated on disrupting the expected pattern and stalling progress. -
@crucial said in Springboks v Wallabies:
@antipodean said in Springboks v Wallabies:
I've played with Larkham and it's amazing how much time he seems to have on the field. He reinforces my opinion of tremendously talented players don't make great coaches. I think that's because they assume a level of skill, calmness and awareness that other players don't have.
Good point.
I used to watch the Brumbies doing their pre-season training and right back pre xmas they were concentrating on patterned plays off calls just as the Wobblies seem to do now. They would get out the playbook NFL style and walk everyone through a multi phase sequence like they were choreographing a dance routine then slowly speed it up each time.
It's a style that served McQueen, Larkham and the Brumbies well and produced results until defences concentrated on disrupting the expected pattern and stalling progress.
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@mikethesnow said in Springboks v Wallabies:
@crucial said in Springboks v Wallabies:
@antipodean said in Springboks v Wallabies:
I've played with Larkham and it's amazing how much time he seems to have on the field. He reinforces my opinion of tremendously talented players don't make great coaches. I think that's because they assume a level of skill, calmness and awareness that other players don't have.
Good point.
I used to watch the Brumbies doing their pre-season training and right back pre xmas they were concentrating on patterned plays off calls just as the Wobblies seem to do now. They would get out the playbook NFL style and walk everyone through a multi phase sequence like they were choreographing a dance routine then slowly speed it up each time.
It's a style that served McQueen, Larkham and the Brumbies well and produced results until defences concentrated on disrupting the expected pattern and stalling progress.I posted some analysis from RugbyPass on the AB/Arg thread that made exactly this point. The ABs do have plans and drills around who should be where and when but the difference is that they also have the ability to adjust from one plan to another based on opportunities. When Cheika talks about not taking opportunities this is exactly what he is seeing. The team is 'over-drilled' and doesn't transition plays when the situation changes.
This was a fault of Hammateur coached sides as well. -
@antipodean said in Springboks v Wallabies:
I've played with Larkham and it's amazing how much time he seems to have on the field. He reinforces my opinion of tremendously talented players don't make great coaches. I think that's because they assume a level of skill, calmness and awareness that other players don't have.
I recall that way he used to drift through while the defence were waiting for him to pass, and I was yelling for someone to nail the forkah!
Found the same thing with skiing and tennis. The best players do things instinctively, and struggle to enunciate what they do.
