I think he's a massive loss but why do you think he wasn't high in link's reckoning?
Aussie Player Exodus
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I think he's a massive loss but why do you think he wasn't high in link's reckoning?
I honestly don't know. He has been getting better over the past season and a half under Cheika. He's now a very solid and reliable performer that seems to have the basics covered, hits hard in defence and at rucks, seems to have a good motor and just gets stuff done. A worker - as we are hearing McKenzie likes. Maybe too much an "all-rounder" in that he isn't the lineout guru, the ball-carrying monster, the maul-general that stands out in one facet? I'm just guessing. I bracket him with Carter, Jones et al in that they all are very reliable Super rugby players who look likely to take the next step and have years on their side. We can't have "too many" of those around. Guys like Skelton, Coleman are a step down that need to be more rounded out.
Tomikin
David Codey (61)
Maybe he wanted more money / top up then Link could afford when he was in the bracket with Carter.. But with more experience. I have no doubt Douglas would have started against the French if not going overseas..
But he took the cash, and Carter took his spot..
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qwerty51
Stirling Mortlock (74)
Who says he wasn't? The rumour he was going to Leinster was in mid-March.
Really? Read who I quoted.
Douglas was one of the first choice second-rowers under Deans last year but was shuffled further down the order when Link came on board. Kane got very few minutes' playing time on the EoYT, maybe that's when his thoughts of Link's lock choices started his wandering options.
Dave Beat
Paul McLean (56)
Wamberal - i don't like any clubs losing players, your comment would be fair if I was having a whinge.
I think you'll find most of my posts on that topic are trying to offer solutions, I want Aust. rugby to be strong.
Cheer up don't cry, please, please - you'll be right.
Pfitzy
Nathan Sharpe (72)
Well, when Simmons has accumulated nearly 40 caps because he's a "lineout general" but not much else, you have to wonder.
Before the roar of banjos becomes deafening: Simmons' Super Rugby form was good enough, he suits Links style of game plan at that level, and clearly he can run a lineout (despite the fact he's shown no real talent for stealing other peoples' ball).
BUT at Test level I want a second rower to have a physical impact in the tight, and Simmons falls short of this compared to Douglas. We can fire back and forth over this if you like, but the simple fact is, if you go and watch the two of them hit rucks, its pretty clear who the more physical player is.
EDIT: I also think Douglas (and his management) have it right in their heads to go now. After RWC2015, the French especially are going to be running amok through the SH looking for talent.
Douglas goes now, gets a presence up there, and then can choose whether he wants to come back and have a crack at the Super/Test arena, or increase his pay packet even further staying in the NH.
This is going to be the world as we know it after the next RWC. Sabbaticals will come in from the ARU unless they find a way to make a heap more cash.
And in retrospect, overpaying players is what got us into financial difficulties in the first place, starting in 1996. So maybe Pulver et al have made the decision that they can't be dictated to by players, and will look after the game of rugby before they look after the talent.
Those talent pathways simply have to get better, and the money is better invested in grassroots to make the base bigger and give us more options.
I like to watch
David Codey (61)
Isn't being offered a pro contract,evidence of good development?
T
TOCC
Guest
Do you actually think Simmons and Douglas were competing for the same position?
T
TOCC
Guest
Because tight-head lock and loose head lock are two different positions with different requirements and expectations.
Ash
Michael Lynagh (62)
Douglas was horrible last year in the Lions series. Horwill was fairly poor, but Douglas was a good level below that, so Horwill maintained his spot for longer than he should have. Douglas struggled for form after that too, so it wasn't surprising he shuffled down the order. If Douglas was in good form there's no way Timani would get selected ahead of him.
I also thought that Douglas was pretty average for the first part of the Super season, but he's come into some good form now.
Pfitzy
Nathan Sharpe (72)
They're nowhere near as different as the corresponding propping positions.
I've played everywhere in the tight five at scrum time, so I feel qualified to speak about this.
Simmons shifted to tight head tonight to accommodate Jones, for example.
T
Train Without a Station
Guest
That was only to accommodate Jones being smaller and offering less in the scrum.
Their game is totally different. Matfield was a LH lock. Line out general that played wider. Botha is a TH lock that was ok in the line out that played tighter with a impact in his involvements.
Don't expect Simmo to be matfield in the line out and Botha around the ground. It's unrealistic and unfair.
Their game is totally different. Matfield was a LH lock. Line out general that played wider. Botha is a TH lock that was ok in the line out that played tighter with a impact in his involvements.
Don't expect Simmo to be matfield in the line out and Botha around the ground. It's unrealistic and unfair.