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Front Row Development - about time

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jason

jason

Sydney Middleton (9)
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...-the-wests-frontrow-future-20100703-zuwg.html
THE future of the Australian Rugby Union's interest in cultivating raw talent from Sydney's Western Suburbs could rest upon the extra broad shoulders of a 16-year-old powerlifter who, despite never having played the game, is being groomed for a future in elite rugby.

Watson Crichton, from Cabramatta in Sydney's south-west, was recently invited to train with the ARU's high performance unit after his mentor sent news of his incredible strength to the high-performance unit's coach, Manu Sutherland.

The teenager, who is 107 kilograms of solid muscle and still growing, is the calibre of athlete that rugby league, rugby union and the AFL are desperate to win over in the battle for the city's western front.

The All Blacks pack boasts the Franks brothers, Owen and Ben, who are notorious for their feats of strength in the gym. The Crusaders props have been training like powerlifters since their teenage years and it has provided them with strength and explosiveness in the scrums - and the ability to squat a formidable 240 kilograms.

With less than a years' weightlifting training, Crichton won the under-15 Sydney championship when he deadlifted 180kg, bench-pressed 110kg and squatted 150kg. His physique and desire has greatly impressed Sutherland.

''He is extremely strong and he is very passionate about playing the game,'' Sutherland told The Sun-Herald. ''I'm very excited about Watson. We are providing him with accelerated tuition, and while some [people] might consider it a gamble, he is doing everything you could possibly ask of him.

''A lot of people are watching how he goes. If he succeeds, and the kid is doing everything you can ask because he is like a giant sponge and absorbing everything we tell him, it could open opportunities for a number of young people from the west. In saying that, we don't want to put an unfair amount of pressure on him, either.''

His trainer and mentor, Steve Vaughan, revealed that Crichton arrived to attend his weight training classes at the Cabramatta Community Centre as an overweight teenager.

''When he turned up here he was very determined to do well in the sport,'' Vaughan said. ''He carried a few extra kilos but he has worked extremely hard. I sent his [powerlifting] figures off to the ARU to see if they were keen on him even though he hadn't played, and they are giving him a go.

''He is determined to succeed. A group of about 16 kids star
Click to expand...

About bloody time. It's been said on the forum before that the ARU should scout out the biggest, hardest fatties in the land and convert them into props. As we've found out this season, two good props (the bens) does not equate to front-row depth. I think this is a big step in the right direction. Thoughts?
 
Nusadan

Nusadan

Chilla Wilson (44)
He'll end up like this:
BLAKEWAY_Phil_19850306_GH_L.jpg


That's Phil Blakeway, he was even uglier when had a closely cropped hair as I watched the 5 Nations in the early 80's...he barely more than ambled all over the ground, but was a brilliant scrummanger...got to play for the Lions after his first season with England...
 
Langthorne

Langthorne

Phil Hardcastle (33)
Nice to see the Parramatta catchment area given some much needed attention.

One talented young fella is a start - now for all the other hidden gems...
 
Blue

Blue

Andrew Slack (58)
Taking a young weightlifter and turning him into a prop isn't a bad idea but I thought "development" means going to grassroots level, find talent, ans put them into dev programs.

Weightlifter's might be strong but do they like other big people bashing into them?

Desparation maybe?
 
Novocastrian

Novocastrian

Herbert Moran (7)
Blue said:
Taking a young weightlifter and turning him into a prop isn't a bad idea but I thought "development" means going to grassroots level, find talent, ans put them into dev programs.

Weightlifter's might be strong but do they like other big people bashing into them?

Desparation maybe?
Click to expand...

Exactly, i saw this thread and thought we might be (finally) getting the prop/scrum school we need, but oh no it's the continuation of Australian prop selection process - put the biggest kid in the front row and hope it works.
 
Reddy!

Reddy!

Bob Davidson (42)
This has a David Fitter ring to it. Just find the fattest bloke, and you've got yourself a prop. Not quite.
 
Lee Grant

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
The encouraging point is not that this particular young man may make it in rugby or not, but that the ARU HPU is doing something different in one area.

We could all come up with a dozen other things they should be doing but it's good to see something introduced that is outside the box.
 
matty_k

matty_k

Peter Johnson (47)
What they could also be doing is to see how they can get promising props into powerlifting. As it sounds like something that they all should be doing.
 
T

tranquility

Guest
haha I agree. This seems like a very backward approach to finding a prop.

However the AFL have a talent identification 'rookie' approach in their junior systems which work better than any other code. They have scouts that pick elite athletes from other sports who may be playing afl for their school or socially or maybe not at all. Based on the fact they are 'rookies' they can then be put into elite programs and fast tracked to the AFL if they are good enough. Kurt Tippett of the Crows and Shaun Hampson of Carlton are two such players I know of who have made it this way and their are a hell of alot more. Shaun was a soccer player until he was 16 and Kurt was a Basketballer I believe.
 
JJJ

JJJ

Vay Wilson (31)
Hmm, don't know what to make of that. He's never played the bloody game. Maybe what he's really best suited for is being a WWF wrestler, or olympic weight-lifter.

(Disclaimer: I know nothing about scrum training.)

What I'd like to see for scrum development is our first and second packs regularly having scrummaging sessions against each other (not just front rows or tight 5s). Especially for the few weeks after our first pick front row comes back. Ideally they'd have a scrum-coach standing on each side of the scrum with every engage telling them what they're doing wrong/right. Pato on one side, Foley (eg) on the other, alternating every 5 engages. Maybe mix up the packs too, to even out any disadvantage from the relative engine powers of the locks and back-rowers. TPN and Moore are pretty much interchangeable anyway, and who knows if Alexander is currently any good at all as a THP?

Pushing into a scrum machine is all well and good, but as Daley demonstrated, a scrum machine won't teach you how to handle binding shenanigans and other dirty tricks while the pressure is on.
 
Langthorne

Langthorne

Phil Hardcastle (33)
Maybe finding the fattest kid and putting him the front row isn't tha answer, but I think it is important that the ARU does make it clear that there is a position for all body shapes in rugby - I think it is yet another big selling points that is under sold.
 
Bruce Ross

Bruce Ross

Ken Catchpole (46)
"THE future of the Australian Rugby Union's interest in cultivating raw talent from Sydney's Western Suburbs could rest upon the extra broad shoulders of a 16-year-old powerlifter who, despite never having played the game, is being groomed for a future in elite rugby.

"Watson Crichton, from Cabramatta in Sydney's south-west, was recently invited to train with the ARU's high performance unit after his mentor sent news of his incredible strength to the high-performance unit's coach, Manu Sutherland.

"The teenager, who is 107 kilograms of solid muscle and still growing, is the calibre of athlete that rugby league, rugby union and the AFL are desperate to win over in the battle for the city's western front.

"The All Blacks pack boasts the Franks brothers, Owen and Ben, who are notorious for their feats of strength in the gym. The Crusaders props have been training like powerlifters since their teenage years and it has provided them with strength and explosiveness in the scrums - and the ability to squat a formidable 240 kilograms."

There is no way GAGR's resident cynic could resist buying into this one.

While Manu Sutherland is one of the true gentlemen of rugby I can't see the wisdom of hyping a 16-year-old who has never played our sport. Surely it would be a good idea to get the kid out on the paddock before building expectations about him. He has a gym training age of about a year and may not yet have discovered girls, booze and various other distractions.

I like the journo's line: "The teenager ... is the calibre of athlete that rugby league, rugby union and the AFL are desperate to win over in the battle for the city's western front." Rugby was smart to lock him in before the AFL scouts realised that there was a 16-year-old 107kg powerlifter up for grabs.

While the Franks brothers' ability to squat 240kg is impressive, take a look at Sydney's own Jerry Yanuyanutawa box-squatting 260kg for 6 reps, [video=youtube;GyaFpU_IZnQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyaFpU_IZnQ[/video].
 
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