For some time I've been telling anyone that would listen that the Wallabies needed a forward, or halfback, captain. Mortlock is an inspiring player and leader but this one fact tells the story: every World Cup winning team has had a halfback or forward as captain:
87: Kirk (halfback)
91: Farr-Jones (halfback)
95: Pienaar (flanker)
99: Eales (lock)
03: Johnston (lock)
07: Smit (hooker)
11: Elsom (flanker)
15: Genia (halfback)
I think the issue is that so many infringements arise from the breakdown, so the referee spends most of their time at that spot. The captain needs to be able to influence the referee and that means being close to the action. I reckon the perfect position for captain is halfback, because they are right there, but aren't caught at the bottom of the ruck too often. They are usually also very good at nagging the referee! But Australia doesn't have an experienced half at the moment. Elsom will do a good job, and we certainly need it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment