mst
Peter Johnson (47)
I am not here to validate your self esteem and argue semantics which are off topic, rather to discuss the options the Rebels have around JD and potential options to improve the performance of the team.What are you talking about?
He played age level reps from under 13s and then played South African Schoolboys. As do many SA school boys, This is not unusual nor exceptional.
He played three Junior World Cup Tournaments before winning World Rugby Junior Player of the Year in his third one. He's surely one of the most decorated junior rugby players in South African history. In the 2013 tournament he played mostly at inside centre and had a fairly average tournament which included having kicking issues.
What 8+ injuries are you talking about that forced their hand?
Pollard debuted for the Springboks within 2 weeks of the JRWC. I remember, because it was against us on a non - international weekend, with about 8-10 domestic starters injured. Horrible horrible day, took the shine off the previous weeks win against the Argies.
My point was that amongst this list of players, none have been close to as good as the likes of Handre Pollard, George Ford, Damian McKenzie, Joe Ford, Otere Black etc. who have come through the under 20s and excelled in recent years. Beyond McIntyre who has been tested at Super Rugby level so how do you form this judgement? Also only two of those names have been tested in Super Rugby.
All of our good young playmaking options are being given chances to various degrees.
Surely the low risk option would be selecting the experienced guys out of club rugby who can lead a team round the park but certainly don't have a high ceiling and will never bring particular success to a team.
If you are so adamant that I have your argument wrong, can you please suggest a few players who you think teams should be giving more of a crack at 10 and why they are better options?
Aside from going back and looking at the names some others have already provided specifically for the Rebels in this discussion, you need to probably ask your question in a more relevant thread.