Rugby Freaks
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@victor-meldrew said in Rugby Freaks:
@canefan said in Rugby Freaks:
@mn5 said in Rugby Freaks:
Does Ma’a Nonu deserve a mention or was he just someone who did everything really well without being freakish ?
I think he was freakish. A physical specimen, he was perceived as being one-dimensional, but he displayed amazing touch that he developed over time
He was just below the level of freakish for me. An uber-talented bloke who worked hard to become the complete player and probably the best 12 I've seen.
Yeah that sums him up. Strong and quick but not ridiculously so. It was that plus the skills that set him apart.
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@mn5 said in Rugby Freaks:
Does Ma’a Nonu deserve a mention or was he just someone who did everything really well without being freakish ?
He was as you say, in my opinion. I watched his development throughout - I liked what I saw in the Hurricanes when Super Rugby arrived and followed them a bit - Rodney, Piri, Jason Eaton. I saw a really focused, deliberate effort from Tana Umaga, bringing Ma'a Nonu on from his clumsy, random early days.
When Tana left that fine team it seemed as if he and Conrad Smith had colluded to fashion the second half of the plan. With Corey Jane he did a lot of work teaching Nonu positional play. To his credit Nonu paid attention and just got better and better at it.
When Sonny Bill turned up he did not see him as a threat and it was a joy to watch the ease of their combination. The try in the 2015 World Cup final was, for me after 12 years, the icing on the cake.
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@mick-gold-coast-qld the try he scored in John Smit's 100th match, when he ran away to score leaving Smit holding his boot, was also satisfying
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@victor-meldrew said in Rugby Freaks:
@canefan said in Rugby Freaks:
@mn5 said in Rugby Freaks:
Does Ma’a Nonu deserve a mention or was he just someone who did everything really well without being freakish ?
I think he was freakish. A physical specimen, he was perceived as being one-dimensional, but he displayed amazing touch that he developed over time
He was just below the level of freakish for me. An uber-talented bloke who worked hard to become the complete player and probably the best 12 I've seen.
@victor-meldrew said in Rugby Freaks:
@canefan said in Rugby Freaks:
@mn5 said in Rugby Freaks:
Does Ma’a Nonu deserve a mention or was he just someone who did everything really well without being freakish ?
I think he was freakish. A physical specimen, he was perceived as being one-dimensional, but he displayed amazing touch that he developed over time
He was just below the level of freakish for me. An uber-talented bloke who worked hard to become the complete player and probably the best 12 I've seen.
I’d agree. When he came on the scene he looked like all he wanted to do was bulldoze through all day but he really developed and importantly, kept on developing. If he was a freak it was his ability to just get better and better. Glad to see the back of him in the end. 😉
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@mick-gold-coast-qld said in Rugby Freaks:
@mn5 said in Rugby Freaks:
Does Ma’a Nonu deserve a mention or was he just someone who did everything really well without being freakish ?
He was as you say, in my opinion. I watched his development throughout - I liked what I saw in the Hurricanes when Super Rugby arrived and followed them a bit - Rodney, Piri, Jason Eaton. I saw a really focused, deliberate effort from Tana Umaga, bringing Ma'a Nonu on from his clumsy, random early days.
When Tana left that fine team it seemed as if he and Conrad Smith had colluded to fashion the second half of the plan. With Corey Jane he did a lot of work teaching Nonu positional play. To his credit Nonu paid attention and just got better and better at it.
When Sonny Bill turned up he did not see him as a threat and it was a joy to watch the ease of their combination. The try in the 2015 World Cup final was, for me after 12 years, the icing on the cake.
Nice write up of Nonu there, Mick. Thanks for sharing.
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@canefan said in Rugby Freaks:
Any freakish love for Goldie? I remember him making things look so easy, he was such a natural talent, and maybe the first to break the stoic AB mould and display emotion when he scored. Bonus points for playing ODI cricket with distinction for NZ too
Really, really skilled and very fast too, deceptively powerful to boot…..but he was definitely the least “freaky” of the back three he played in so often.
His first class cricket stats indicated he could have had a very good international career too, shame we never really found out.
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@canefan said in Rugby Freaks:
@mick-gold-coast-qld the try he scored in John Smit's 100th match, when he ran away to score leaving Smit holding his boot, was also satisfying
Dagg scored the try, Nonu made the line break and sweet cut out pass.
“HE’S GOT DAGG”
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When I think freakish ability and those something out of nothing players I immediately think of Rupeni, Cullen, Lauaki, Serevi, Michalak, Lomu, Ella
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@mn5 said in Rugby Freaks:
@canefan said in Rugby Freaks:
Any freakish love for Goldie? I remember him making things look so easy, he was such a natural talent, and maybe the first to break the stoic AB mould and display emotion when he scored. Bonus points for playing ODI cricket with distinction for NZ too
Really, really skilled and very fast too, deceptively powerful to boot…..but he was definitely the least “freaky” of the back three he played in so often.
His first class cricket stats indicated he could have had a very good international career too, shame we never really found out.
Jeff Wilson had an international ODI record!
Longest break between ODI games.. -
No-one has mentioned Grant Batty yet....so I will. For a bloke who was considered tiny, even for that era, he had freakish physicality, acceleration & footwork. Check out 14:10 into the video.
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@canefan said in Rugby Freaks:
Any freakish love for Goldie? I remember him making things look so easy, he was such a natural talent, and maybe the first to break the stoic AB mould and display emotion when he scored. Bonus points for playing ODI cricket with distinction for NZ too
definitely, i mentioned him earlier, I think that back three of cullen, lomu and goldie could take on any other back three, the most "complete" back three i can think of. i think goldie had one of the best kick and chase games ever, like BB and now jordan the ball just popped up for him when he wanted and one of his best (and worst attributes) was the sheer arrogance to try some of the stuff he did
Lets not forget, goldie and cullen were skinny compared to a lot fo the backs now days and still did what they did old school baggy jerseys for people to grab
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@kiwiwomble said in Rugby Freaks:
@canefan said in Rugby Freaks:
Any freakish love for Goldie? I remember him making things look so easy, he was such a natural talent, and maybe the first to break the stoic AB mould and display emotion when he scored. Bonus points for playing ODI cricket with distinction for NZ too
definitely, i mentioned him earlier, I think that back three of cullen, lomu and goldie could take on any other back three, the most "complete" back three i can think of. i think goldie had one of the best kick and chase games ever, like BB and now jordan the ball just popped up for him when he wanted and one of his best (and worst attributes) was the sheer arrogance to try some of the stuff he did
Lets not forget, goldie and cullen were skinny compared to a lot fo the backs now days and still did what they did old school baggy jerseys for people to grab
Maybe my memory is a bit false, but I recall Goldie being an un-selfish player as well. He'd often pass to someone in a better position to score when he could have scored himself.
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@victor-meldrew i think he changed/grew a bit over the years, i remember at least early on him backing his pace or the chip and chase when a lot might have taken a tackle. the fact he often pulled it off probably the thing that saved him.
As i mentioned in my example, i think the lower the level the more "confident" he was
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@mn5 said in Rugby Freaks:
@canefan said in Rugby Freaks:
His first class cricket stats indicated he could have had a very good international career too, shame we never really found out.His stats (and play) were not that compelling especially with the bat. It's not obvious that he wouldn't have had a similar career to Andrew Penn, Justin Vaughn or Tama Canning (from a slightly later era) which was basically a cup of coffee during injury crises. Cricket Max may have showcased him and kept him in the ODI frame more than those guys as Chris Harris is on the record as saying he is the cleanest/longest hitter of a cricket ball he saw in his career.
Rugby for sure was the better choice. Still incredible to play both to that level.
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Apologies if this has been mentioned but 2015 Milner-Skudder was an absolute freak.
