Pat McCabe

[Bruce Ross]

''combined well, particularly defensively"?

I was at the game and haven't got the opportunity to watch a replay of it, but I have distinct images of two of the Samoan tries being scored through a midfield gap marginally wider than the Sydney Heads. I can't criticise particular players because I don't know how or where they were aligned at the time, but if anyone ''combined well, particularly defensively" it was the Samoan backs who presented a classic brick wall. This surprised me after watching them train on Thursday morning when their defensive structure was more brush fence than brick wall.

 

[Jets]

On Git's I think the worst thing he ever did was go to the Force and play 10. I know it worked quite well for them but I think it gave him the belief that he could be a top quality 10. He would have been better of staying at the Ponies playing 12 as it would have allowed him to reach his potential.

 

[The_Riddler]

Wouldn't that be true of most players in the team?

Yep, except probably Beale, JOC (James O'Connor), Ioane, Quade, Genia, Pocock, Elsom, and Horwill in the short term. Everything else I reckon is on notice. I think Elsom will come into some form the more he gets minutes under his belt.

 

[Bruce Ross]

''He [McCabe] is well suited to the midfield. He has played most of his Super Rugby on the edge, either wing or fullback.'

That is authentic Deanspeak. Note the logical disconnect between the two sentences.

 

[Athilnaur]

Having just watched the video the stats that you have provided are a bit misleading. Of his 14 runs I saw maybe 3 of them made it past the gain line. That is he moved the ball further up the field than where the last ruck was, as opposed to the advantage line that is halfway between the defence and attack, and it was only a matter of meters past this line. I would want a player of McCabe's style to be making at least one clear linebreak a half but he made none.

To be fair even the best line breaker in SuperRugby only averaged 1 per game, and he wasn't playing centre.

McCabe, Elsom, and I think McCalman, were the only players to achieve decent gainline in tight vs Samoa. Bloody frustrating to watch. It was like seeing diggers achieve a beachhead, only to get cut down because the rest of force are spectating from the landing craft.

 

[Godfrey]

''He [McCabe] is well suited to the midfield. He has played most of his Super Rugby on the edge, either wing or fullback.'

That is authentic Deanspeak. Note the logical disconnect between the two sentences.

Easy to say when cherry picking. Deans actually gave reasons that he thinks McCabe is suited to the midfield, then stated he's played most of his super rugby in the outside backs, which is true. Can McCabe not be suited to the midfield despite having played most of his Super Rugby on the wing?

 

[Jets]

I would be happy if it just looked like he was going to make one at some stage of his Wallaby career.

 

[Slim 293]

Easy to say when cherry picking. Deans actually gave reasons that he thinks McCabe is suited to the midfield, then stated he's played most of his super rugby in the outside backs, which is true. Can McCabe not be suited to the midfield despite having played most of his Super Rugby on the wing?

I believe he's played a fair bit in the centres in club rugby, and will now be the Brumbies' 12 or 13... hopefully 13...

While he can play fullback/wing (and quite well) he's definitely more suited to the centres... so I think Deans is right on this one...

 

[wamberal]

The few times I have seen him in Club Rugby, McCabe was an elusive runner from full-back. Has he lost confidence in his ability to beat a man, or is he playing to instructions?

Sione Piukala is a pretty good crash baller for unbeaten Eastwood. Just as a matter of interest - he might be one for the future, especially if the Woodies continue winning.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Easy to say when cherry picking. Deans actually gave reasons that he thinks McCabe is suited to the midfield, then stated he's played most of his super rugby in the outside backs, which is true. Can McCabe not be suited to the midfield despite having played most of his Super Rugby on the wing?

Thank you once again, Godfrey, for providing a critique of my posts. I am indebted to you.

You have the advantage of me. You were apparently present when Deans was interviewed, I was not.

What explanations Deans gave is totally irrelevant to my post. I was simply drawing attention to the somewhat incongruous juxtaposition of two sentences.

 

[biggsy]

Didi notice that pat when he was 1st to the break down on offence, he doesn't stay on his feet,went straight to ground. This could be something to watch out for under different Refs, beside that he did well in defence and ran the ball hard. And i think he will have a better game this week when he is getting a better seed from cooper.Also a good crash baller,just nee the forwards there quickly to clean out, where I think horwil and simmons will bring tho the game this WE

 

[Scotty]

He wasn't the only one flopping over and sealing the ball off. Both sides did a lot of it.

 

[Godfrey]

Thank you once again, Godfrey, for providing a critique of my posts. I am indebted to you.

You have the advantage of me. You were apparently present when Deans was interviewed, I was not.

What explanations Deans gave is totally irrelevant to my post. I was simply drawing attention to the somewhat incongruous juxtaposition of two sentences.

It's not irrelevant at all. You said there was a logical disconnect between the two sentences - I pointed out that they were two lines out of the context of a larger explanation. Again, I was simply engaging the content of the post which has nothing to do with you at all - no need to be so precious. If you would prefer a simple repository for your statements with no fear of people engaging in a discussion perhaps a Microsoft Word document might be of some use.

 

[undercoverkiwi]

McCabe, IMO, is not a test 12, possibly a 13. Let's not forget that the opposition at the weekend was Samoa, and even though they beat you they are not a top-ranked side, so his go-forward stats (which are impressive in that match) are possibly misleading.

Your backline needs a snappier 12 if it's going to make the most of its pace. Look at how Jamie Roberts stifles the Welsh outside backs. It's good to have his bulk there for midfield go-forward but he lacks the distribution so tends to just trundle and take contact. One could argue Nonu is a similar player but I disagree - early Nonu was a one-dimensional midfield basher but has become a top-class distributor and defenders now need to be aware the options available to him, so he puts defenders in two minds. And Nonu is signifciantly more damaging/dynamic than McCabe in any case.

He might make a test 12 in a year or two, but now? No way. So from my point of view, McCabe at 12 is a great call.

I can't work out what's happened to Giteau.

 

[rugby_man]

The few times I have seen him in Club Rugby, McCabe was an elusive runner from full-back. Has he lost confidence in his ability to beat a man, or is he playing to instructions?

Sione Piukala is a pretty good crash baller for unbeaten Eastwood. Just as a matter of interest - he might be one for the future, especially if the Woodies continue winning.

Sione Piukala is a very good player. He is strong in contact and knows when to link with the rest of the backline. Another who has impressed me a lot is Tim Bennetts. He is maturing and I'd go as far as saying I'd be very suprised if he wasn't playing regular Super 15 next year.

 

[Groucho]

McCabe, IMO, is not a test 12, possibly a 13. Let's not forget that the opposition at the weekend was Samoa, and even though they beat you they are not a top-ranked side, so his go-forward stats (which are impressive in that match) are possibly misleading.

Your backline needs a snappier 12 if it's going to make the most of its pace. Look at how Jamie Roberts stifles the Welsh outside backs. It's good to have his bulk there for midfield go-forward but he lacks the distribution so tends to just trundle and take contact. One could argue Nonu is a similar player but I disagree - early Nonu was a one-dimensional midfield basher but has become a top-class distributor and defenders now need to be aware the options available to him, so he puts defenders in two minds. And Nonu is signifciantly more damaging/dynamic than McCabe in any case.

He might make a test 12 in a year or two, but now? No way. So from my point of view, McCabe at 12 is a great call.

I can't work out what's happened to Giteau.

McCabe is the quickest in the Brumbies over 40m, and the Brumbies have some fast players.

 

[undercoverkiwi]

McCabe is the quickest in the Brumbies over 40m, and the Brumbies have some fast players.

Joe Rok is the quickest in New Zealand over 40m but I wouldn't pick him at 12 for the All Blacks.

McCabe is a bosher. He runs straight and hard, but he limits your outside backs. Does he even offload?

 

[Riptide]

Didi notice that pat when he was 1st to the break down on offence, he doesn't stay on his feet,went straight to ground. This could be something to watch out for under different Refs, beside that he did well in defence and ran the ball hard. And i think he will have a better game this week when he is getting a better seed from cooper.Also a good crash baller,just nee the forwards there quickly to clean out, where I think horwil and simmons will bring tho the game this WE

This was the first thing that sprung to mind as well when I watched the video. He needs additional schooling on breakdown skills, although his ball presentation was pretty good.

A 12 must straighten the line, and fix any defensive drift. McCabe runs hard, has good leg drive in contact, but I haven't seen enough evidence to comment on his distribution skills to date. He ran pretty basic lines against Samoa, and took on the responsibility of getting some go forward ball. With better quality ball, I'll be interested to see if he varies his angle of running more, and to see how well he hits his outside runners.

So far so good, but it's too early to say if he is a Test quality 12 to oppose the likes of Carter, Nonu/SBW, Smith, and to go against the highly experienced, clever Irish midfield of D'Arcy, O'Driscoll, who still have the ability to do lots of damage in spite of their years.

 

[Riptide]

Joe Rok is the quickest in New Zealand over 40m but I wouldn't pick him at 12 for the All Blacks.

McCabe is a bosher. He runs straight and hard, but he limits your outside backs. Does he even offload?

It's been a while since Joe burned anyone with his speed or agility, and he seems to favor running into contact. His game has morphed into being more solid, and he has lost much of his flash. Surprised to hear he is still the quickest over 40m though (Maitland, Gear, Guildford, Nani?)

 

[ACT Crusader]

People saying McCabe isn't a 12 based on his skills might remember that the game has evolved somewhat. The ABs have had success with Umaga and Nonu at 12. Both players that even I would traditionally say were 13 types. Umaga had to develop his passing game considerably and that came during his test career not when he "arrived". Even England have tasted success with Hape at 12 and he is a league centre..... It's also the reason I am not surprised SBW has settled into 12 rather than 13.

Jauzion isn't your classic 2nd 5 type, he combines a hard running game with other skills, but his instinct is to take on the line. Mapusua has played most of his footy at 12 and he is more crash baller than distributor.

The trend seems to be to use a good hard running player at 12 and then the other parts of their game will evolve.