Interesting observations re: Aaron Smith, and piqued my interest as an ex-halfback. I’ve always been of the view that halfbacks of Smith’s type are not the best defensive halfbacks or behind forward packs struggling to maintain parity - that’s the place for a Connor Murray or Justin Marshall type. The hallmarks for Smith have been a lightning pass and good box kick, but mostly the lightning pass to set away talented outsides behind a dominant forward pack. In the absence of those things you need real variety from your half - kick, run or pass - to keep the opposition guessing and their back line defence on their heals. I haven’t seen much of him lately, but at 34 he’s probably lost a yard of pace and being small is always vulnerable to getting scratched when he runs and putting his team on the back foot. I’m going back a while now, but actually the better parallel is possibly George Gregan, who later in his career became a serial passer and made the Aussie backline easier to defend for a time. Defences used to drift off Grant Fox for the same reason - he never ran. I’m a big fan of Smith and I thought he was fading pre covid but seemed to really benefit from the break it gave him, but Father Time always catches up.
Re club rugby and ages; sadly the same here in the Manawatu, we would struggle if it was imposed at the club I follow but kids straight out of school having at least a year in colts rugby might keep them playing abit longer; looking back at team lists over last few years, players in senior A rugby seem to disappear out of the game - ‘retired’ by 25 by injuries or apathy - if your playing senior A at 18 that might be 6-7 seasons which, as an aside will ensure you’ve earned your blazer and always be welcomed back at your club for Old Timers Day!
Interesting observations re: Aaron Smith, and piqued my interest as an ex-halfback. I’ve always been of the view that halfbacks of Smith’s type are not the best defensive halfbacks or behind forward packs struggling to maintain parity - that’s the place for a Connor Murray or Justin Marshall type. The hallmarks for Smith have been a lightning pass and good box kick, but mostly the lightning pass to set away talented outsides behind a dominant forward pack. In the absence of those things you need real variety from your half - kick, run or pass - to keep the opposition guessing and their back line defence on their heals. I haven’t seen much of him lately, but at 34 he’s probably lost a yard of pace and being small is always vulnerable to getting scratched when he runs and putting his team on the back foot. I’m going back a while now, but actually the better parallel is possibly George Gregan, who later in his career became a serial passer and made the Aussie backline easier to defend for a time. Defences used to drift off Grant Fox for the same reason - he never ran. I’m a big fan of Smith and I thought he was fading pre covid but seemed to really benefit from the break it gave him, but Father Time always catches up.
Re club rugby and ages; sadly the same here in the Manawatu, we would struggle if it was imposed at the club I follow but kids straight out of school having at least a year in colts rugby might keep them playing abit longer; looking back at team lists over last few years, players in senior A rugby seem to disappear out of the game - ‘retired’ by 25 by injuries or apathy - if your playing senior A at 18 that might be 6-7 seasons which, as an aside will ensure you’ve earned your blazer and always be welcomed back at your club for Old Timers Day!