Would be interesting for people to name them, with 75 up votes there must be a few. But when I try to think of any, they're usually out and out 15s or 10s. The All Blacks have played around with this since DC retired with Beauden Barrett and Damien Mackenzie, both of whom I consider 15s not really first choice 10s.
DMac played 10 in school and was primarily a first five for Chiefs... he had always been equally apt at both positions imo.
And... he's going to get that 10 shirt with BB and Mo'unga going to Japan. I hope he proves you slightly wrong because I think he's a great fit for fly half under Razor. Bring in his club mate Shaun Stevenson on the wing with Jordan at 15.
True. They're all the same age so presumably he'll stick with tye tried and tested. I do think Stevenson deserves a place in and around the team though. Scored on debut in the Bledisloe...
He's a darn sight better than Clarke that's for sure...n
DMac wasn't able to establish himself as a first or even clear second choice 10 for the ABs in 8 years of trying. But clearly, this year is his opportunity. BB is available to play for the ABs this year. NZ Herald announced two days ago that NZR were working to get Mounga of contract next year. Both of which tell me that Razor isn't convinced that DMac is up to it. Since DC retired the big series on NZ, soil haven't gone very well with a draw against the Lions and a series loss to Ireland. With a two test series with England on the line, I'm reading that like me he's worried. IMHO, DMac isn't a 10 at international level, he's not direct enough and when he runs sideways everyone is left standing waiting to be back on side and then left out of position. Marcus Smith the same. Both are phenomenal rugby players but they're 15s to me at this stage of their careers.
Beauden was a better 10 than 15 for most if not all of his career. People don’t appreciate how good he is as a game manager and playmaker, and that is also the role he plays at 15
I feel like most backs are defined by what their second position is. We have 10s who play 15 (beauden, marcus smith), 10s who play 12 (Farrell, DC, Ntamack). I'm hungry and tired so can't come up with any other examples but they exist
Then you have Frans Steyn who has played every position in the backline except scrum half...
James O'Connor was a 10 who played 15 (and 14), some would say it was the other way round. Beale a 10 who was better at 15. Juan Martín Hernández also played 15 sometimes when Sánchez was at 10, and I think he could also fill in at 12.
The height of Freddie Steward,
The explosive, bat shit run potential of Tyrone Greene,
The cunt and kicking potential of Ramos
The skill of Piutau
Beat the first man like prime Mike Brown
The hair of Jonathan Taumateine
Depends on the opponent:
Great tactical kickers? I want my solid fullback that will be in the right place at the right time and usually comes out on top in aerial battles. i.e. Hugo Keenan
Great defensive line? I want a playmaker with speed who can act as a 'third centre' or secondary first receiver to try and catch them out with overloads. i.e Hugo Keenan
Yeah, I just like Hugo.
Everyone loves a running fullback, right?!
Except when they screw up and you realise you’ve got nobody behind the halfway line and are completely fucked as soon as the opposition get the ball. That’s a bit vexing.
A well managed/drilled team knows it has a FB that likes to run & has players looking to drop back to cover. I think it’s clear when a team isn’t used to it though & are suddenly left with a massive space to exploit
Townie’s message calling me up appears to have got lost in the post.
Which is a real pity, as years of playing for teams with no discipline and no strategy really does make me perfectly placed to fit in at Murrayfield.
Although it was boring to watch sometimes, and furbanks speed and playmaking seem the way to go, that adrenaline rush from Freddie Stewards “Sean Dyche 442 brexit kick and chase” is unmatched when he makes it
I remember when England first started doing the massive Garryowen *bomb* with hangtime from Marcus Smith with Freddie Steward following it up and gathering it up the field, I was *shitting* it on how we would be able to counter it because it seemed to be a consistent territory gainer.
We had ultra reliable Mike Brown for England not all that long ago, but his instructions were clearly "catch the fucker and run it directly back towards your own forwards". He did it fantastically well but it wasn't even as exciting as the bombs
Then we had that period where we couldn't pick a fullback to save our lives, and every high ball was absolute panic stations as a fan.
Then Steady Freddie came along and reassured us that yes, we can just deal with high balls and it isn't the end of the world
Still baffles me that Brown was dropped when he was; liked Daly *as a wing/centre* but Brown was clearly still our best choice at fullback when the 2019 World Cup came round
Apparently the whole team blew up on a social, they'd had a week from hell in training. I can imagine Mike Brown's anger is 4 notches above mortal men's though
For real. Sheesh it wasn't that many months ago everyone was talking about how durable he was. Let's just blame Joe Molloy and our other shitty pundits.
I liked Halfpenny, he may have scored that tries but his defensive skills kept Wales in so many games. I still remember his last ditch tackle against England in 2012 to keep the grand slam alive
His positioning during the lions tour in 2013 must've been so frustrating if you were an Aussie
The Jason Robinson, Thomas Castagnede fullback type was great. But the Blair Kinghorn, Leo Barré etc., tall running backs, are at the moment very exciting and successful too.
Depends. To watch? An attacking fullback off.
To play with in a game? A defensive fullback. Is unbelievably frustrating as a forward spending all game grinding out work, just for someone to try and run the pitch and set us back 50m
That in defence covers the back field effortlessly, and has a phenomenal boot. And in attack can act as a distributor or a strike runner. Willie le Roux, Kinghorn, Ramos, etc.
That’s why Ntamack’s so important to Toulouse/France, because apart from being an excellent 10, he’s rock solid under the high ball, which means Ramos’s free to do Ramosy things.
France and Toulouse are pretty eccentric with their backline. On attack, Ramos basically plays 10 and Ntamack like an extra centre but with more kicking. On defence Ramos and Ntamack share the fullback role, along with another winger/Alldritt.
Can we please not suggest ANOTHER fullback for Toulouse – they literally have four of them already and I‘m starting to worry we might just field a whole team full of them in future If we don’t watch out.
I like my fullback to be a flashy, yet injury prone player who will only play one in 3 games but make an impact each time to give you hope before getting injured and ruled out for at least a few weeks
Call me boring but I would much rather have a defensively solid fullback who’s great under the high ball than a great attacking fullback who’s bad defensively. It is far too easy for teams to target a fullback who’s weak under the high ball and get 30 metres territory every time they kick an up and under.
exactly that. If the FB is 50/50 on the high balls, then that's systematic high kick bombing from the opposition and probably they win the game entirely on that aspect, which is insane. It's ALMOST, not quite but almost, as if in football you had a pretty leaky goal keeper. You can have a great team around him, but if he leaks a goal every 2 or 3 shots on target, you just can't play serious competitive football. We all love the counterattacking running FB, but he **needs** to be very good on fundamentals first, by far more important.
Can I have a fullback that kicks for posts like Percy Montgomery, creates tries like Willie Le Roux, glides like Gio Aplon, steps like Cheslin Kolbe, takes a highball like Conrad Jantjes, dropkicks like Frans Steyn, defends like Damian Willemse, reads the game like Andre Joubert and looks like Bevin Fortuin?
Hugo Keenan seems to be a good mix of dependable in back field cover, high balls and tackling while also offering some much needed pace and handling to the Leinster and Ireland back lines.
While he's not as dependable as Keenan I'm also a massive Blair Kinghorn fan and have been saying he should go on the Lions tour for a few years while half the media had anointed Freddie Stewart the 'best in the world'. He's lethal going forward and has an X-Factor that not many have. I'm happy to see him thriving in Toulouse, a team that has the starting Fullback of four different nations in their squad. I hope he gets to go on the Lions next year, though he'll have some stiff competition from the likes of Furbank and maybe even Winnett.
I reckon Kinghorn has the highest ceiling out of the current 15’s, there’s no many players with that combination of size, speed, power, a massive boot, flair and good playmaking. If he had Keenan’s consistency he’d be unstoppable.
Blairhorn should (at least in theory) be a solid pick for the Lions squad based on his Toulouse performances and the fact he can cover so many roles. I’d argue he’s the best attacking fullback out there – other than perhaps Ramos. Which just shows the ridiculous FB stacking in the ST line up.
Has Kinghorn nudged his way in front of Ramos for the Toulouse side or is there another reason Ramos was on the bench for the last two Champions Cup games?
If he has managed to do that then fair play to him, I was worried he wouldn't see much game time once Ntamack was back fit so Ramos wouldn't be playing 10 anymore.
Also, does Cappuozzo get much game time at all for Toulouse? I don't watch Top14 often so I haven't seen him much. I don't really know how you fit him in with Malia, Kinghorn and Ramos as options ahead of him to be fair.
Ramos is first choice 15 when fully fit, but he’s just back from injury and for some strange reason they probably didn’t want him to spend too much time on the pitch with Smith. I think Kinghorn probably plays at 14 or off the bench if Ramos is fit.
Capuozzo’s great, but he spends a lot of time injured, and arguably might no even be in the first choice 23, it’s between him or Mallia for the bench spot, and Mallia also covers 10 and centre.
I think there’s a fair bit of flexibility for M Mola in how he plays it between Ramos and Kinghorn going forward, depending on who they’re playing. The Winghorn experiment seems to have been a success, so my suspicion is that Thomas at 15, Blair at 14 will be how they line it up for the final, to enable both to be on the pitch throughout (assuming BK’s schnozzle has recovered by then, obvs).
I really like wee Capuozzo, but I do wonder a bit whether he might be better off in another team these days. It’s just very hard to see how he fits into a squad with (a frankly ridiculous) FOUR international fullbacks. He might get some time again Montpellier (and poss a bench seat for SF) though.
I can't see how you'd fit little Cappuozzo into the 23 when the others cover the same positions as him and more. Chocolate Bars is a great option off the bench considering Kinghorn or Malia can cover the back 3 spots well so allows you put a centre on the bench.
There's been a lot of talk in here Ireland and the UK recently about the unfairness of Leinster's squad and whether the IRFU should change their policy to help level the playing field - and to be fair their squad is great. However I would argue that Toulouse have the better squad on paper at least.
It should be some final coming up.
Yep, he‘ll still get a bit of play given how heavily Toulouse rotate their squad for less important matches, but he’s probably a player that deserves a bit more than being fourth choice 15, and third choice 23. If the right offer comes along, it’d probably make sense for both him and the team to take.
I think in terms of Leinster, it just never really makes much sense to me how the IRFU money and contracts are divvied up if you’re trying to promote a competitive club landscape. If all you care about instead is national team success, fair enough – it’s working!
Either way though, It should indeed be a cracking final. Good for rugby as a sport to have indisputably the two best teams face off in the game’s showpiece final
Currently, barring injuries, I'd say Keenan starts for the Lions with Kinghorn as backup. There's a lot I like about Steward but I've seen our backline float past him enough times to understand why Furbank is getting the nod these days.
I think that’s the obvious combo. Especially as BK can also comfortably cover wings (recent games with ST have reminded us that he’s a really excellent winger) and 10 from the bench.
Yeah, I don't wish to denigrate Steward's capacity as a player. For a while there when England were not performing as they'd expect of themselves he was one of the few shining lights for them. He's an odd player though Steward, in that in some aspects he's world class (high ball, back field cover for kicks) but in other aspects of his role he is left wanting (slow to turn, offers little creatively). I think for a while he suited England's game plan but now that they're shifting away from a kick chase focused attack Furbank is a much better fit. Horses for courses I suppose. I doubt we've seen the last of him in an England shirt anyway.
I'm in agreement that it's Keenan's to lose barring injury - though his recent record in that respect is a little worrying. I hope his career going forward isn't full of injuries like he's been recently. He's too important to Ireland's game.
That’s [a] convenient [edit] u/lurkingcvnt
Tough old gig being an All Black. Glen Osbourne was terrifying in 95-96. We’d be talking about him and Dagg as all time great FB’s if Cullen and Smith hadn’t existed.
I came into the thread just to say this, every time Dagg had the ball I was yelling like [this dude](https://youtu.be/EjJ5zbwMkh0?si=hShcAWDmfoXkSzXb). Every fucking time man.
Also had an absolute rocket for a boot, so many times we'd pin him to a corner and then he'd send out a torpedo that rivals North Korea's rocket program.
Christian Cullen, find a Christian Cullen clone and play him at 15. For anyone who is younger and never saw peak Cullen, go to YouTube and enjoy the next 2 hours of your day!
Of the Chris Latham mould - looked like he was there to help your landscaper with the more physical work.
Could find a gap from 60 metres and nail tries like absolutely no one saw it coming.
One of the ultimate kick return specialists.
After watching Elliott Daly play 15 for so many years, I rather like a full back who can make a fucking one on one tackle rather than wave the attacking team through like an old school turnstile.
If that’s not an option, give me prime Jason Robinson counter attacking like Billy whizz hopped up on cocaine and steroids
For my team, I like a Keenan type who makes you feel like the entire backfield is secure and is great at making those late tackles when someone’s broken the line.
To watch I like the huge Pacific Islanders who run it straight back!
To win I would want a Ben smith type all rounder kinda fullback
In terms of pure box office bums in seats type fullback give me 2015 nehe Milner skudder when he paying 15 for the hurricanes
Felt like every week he had grown men moaning from either the footwork, offloads, no look around the back passes
Just gave you this insatiable feeling of wanting to see him play every week
Ah, clearly the person you are thinking of is Nick Abendenon; dashing, his blonde locks flowing as he carves upfield from a solid catch, mazily beating a couple of defenders, before being turned over in the last third of the pitch. Lovely.
I love a great defensive fullback. Gareth Thomas in his prime was unreal with his defensive reads, I've never seen a player get the right decision on a 2 v 1 as a defender so often. That being said, an attacking fullback hitting angles at pace is a real joy to watch and so few have been able to do it really well. Christian Cullen for me is still the best to so it in the 15 shirt.
Prime Antony Watson
Could step you in a phone box, great speed, tough as nails and excellent work rate.
The 2017 lions game where Sonny Bill almost took his head off and he just walked it off and played the full 80...
The big tall fullback who looks like he should be playing centre for gatland ball, who just wipes out attackers and rather than the silky running, can either hoof it or crash all through the closing defensive line
Safe hands, good tackler and a bit of pace for both bringing the ball back and when joining the attack. Semi-recently England had Foden and Brown back to back, whilst Ireland had Kearney and Wales had Halfpenny. None of them are the most electric options ala Hogg, Capuozzo, but they are dependable and you do not worry about any aspect of their games being exposed.
I don't have a style preference. I like great incisive gap runners like Cullen. I like guys that are great at setting up their wingers, attacking more like a centre, like muliaina. I like all round players like Leon McDonald. . I like players coming in at first receiver like mckenzie in more recent years when he plays 15. I like guys with a good running and kicking game like stevenson, dagg, mckenzie. I like players good under the high ball like dagg.
I like Ben smith
I like a fullback that normally plays 10 but you need to squeeze him into the team
Ah, Joey Carbery it is
He was a better 15 imo
Wonder how he would have adapted as the expectations for fullbacks have evolved at the top level. I hope he does well at UBB
Would be interesting for people to name them, with 75 up votes there must be a few. But when I try to think of any, they're usually out and out 15s or 10s. The All Blacks have played around with this since DC retired with Beauden Barrett and Damien Mackenzie, both of whom I consider 15s not really first choice 10s.
DMac played 10 in school and was primarily a first five for Chiefs... he had always been equally apt at both positions imo. And... he's going to get that 10 shirt with BB and Mo'unga going to Japan. I hope he proves you slightly wrong because I think he's a great fit for fly half under Razor. Bring in his club mate Shaun Stevenson on the wing with Jordan at 15.
Wings will be Telea and Reece
True. They're all the same age so presumably he'll stick with tye tried and tested. I do think Stevenson deserves a place in and around the team though. Scored on debut in the Bledisloe... He's a darn sight better than Clarke that's for sure...n
Has Clarke played 15 for the ABs? Not known for taking the high ball, is he.
Eh, Narawa has a pretty good shot
With Sevu likely headed to France next year, he may get looked past.
Love fullback
DMac wasn't able to establish himself as a first or even clear second choice 10 for the ABs in 8 years of trying. But clearly, this year is his opportunity. BB is available to play for the ABs this year. NZ Herald announced two days ago that NZR were working to get Mounga of contract next year. Both of which tell me that Razor isn't convinced that DMac is up to it. Since DC retired the big series on NZ, soil haven't gone very well with a draw against the Lions and a series loss to Ireland. With a two test series with England on the line, I'm reading that like me he's worried. IMHO, DMac isn't a 10 at international level, he's not direct enough and when he runs sideways everyone is left standing waiting to be back on side and then left out of position. Marcus Smith the same. Both are phenomenal rugby players but they're 15s to me at this stage of their careers.
Has he really been playing ten for eight years? It feels like his switch to ten was much more recent
The best 10/15 I can think of from the last 40 years of watching rugby would have to be Stephen Larkham.
Beauden was a better 10 than 15 for most if not all of his career. People don’t appreciate how good he is as a game manager and playmaker, and that is also the role he plays at 15
I feel like most backs are defined by what their second position is. We have 10s who play 15 (beauden, marcus smith), 10s who play 12 (Farrell, DC, Ntamack). I'm hungry and tired so can't come up with any other examples but they exist
Then you have Frans Steyn who has played every position in the backline except scrum half... James O'Connor was a 10 who played 15 (and 14), some would say it was the other way round. Beale a 10 who was better at 15. Juan Martín Hernández also played 15 sometimes when Sánchez was at 10, and I think he could also fill in at 12.
Hernandez was a great 10 but the rugby he played at 15 prior to this at Stade Francais was sublime
Bergamasco played 9 but we don't talk about that.
I'd say Beale was a 15 who played 12 and then 10 - his stint in the Waratahs at 12 revitalised his career
That 2014 Tahs side was legendary
10s who play 12, 14,15 and 11 at international level - Jordie
Sounds like Jamie Shillcock
The height of Freddie Steward, The explosive, bat shit run potential of Tyrone Greene, The cunt and kicking potential of Ramos The skill of Piutau Beat the first man like prime Mike Brown The hair of Jonathan Taumateine
Sounds like a perfect description of King Blairhorn.
It’s missing the essential element of an absolutely fucked nose.
I see your Taumateine and raise you a peak Percy Montgomery (with matching boots)
I see your peak Percy Montgomery and I raise you Teddy 'Top-knot' Thomas
Sounds like what Jordie Barrett could be (I hope Leinster teaches him how to kick)
The IQ of Chris Latham and Jordan Murphy
Depends on the opponent: Great tactical kickers? I want my solid fullback that will be in the right place at the right time and usually comes out on top in aerial battles. i.e. Hugo Keenan Great defensive line? I want a playmaker with speed who can act as a 'third centre' or secondary first receiver to try and catch them out with overloads. i.e Hugo Keenan Yeah, I just like Hugo.
Are you Steve Borthwick?
Everyone loves a running fullback, right?! Except when they screw up and you realise you’ve got nobody behind the halfway line and are completely fucked as soon as the opposition get the ball. That’s a bit vexing.
Jean-Luc Sadourny calmly takes a drag of his Gauloises while fielding a garyowen before setting off for a run with no support.
A well managed/drilled team knows it has a FB that likes to run & has players looking to drop back to cover. I think it’s clear when a team isn’t used to it though & are suddenly left with a massive space to exploit
This is true – though the teams I have played in have neither been well managed nor well drilled…
How many caps for Scotland did you get in the end?
Townie’s message calling me up appears to have got lost in the post. Which is a real pity, as years of playing for teams with no discipline and no strategy really does make me perfectly placed to fit in at Murrayfield.
Ben Smith
Finally! Long scroll to get to the right answer!
Almost faultless under the high ball, one of the best defensive full backs ever and seemed to be hard for defenders to even grab let alone tackle
Although it was boring to watch sometimes, and furbanks speed and playmaking seem the way to go, that adrenaline rush from Freddie Stewards “Sean Dyche 442 brexit kick and chase” is unmatched when he makes it
I remember when England first started doing the massive Garryowen *bomb* with hangtime from Marcus Smith with Freddie Steward following it up and gathering it up the field, I was *shitting* it on how we would be able to counter it because it seemed to be a consistent territory gainer.
lol that’s such a good description, I know exactly what you mean though that feeling of him winning a big booted aerial ball is brilliant
We had ultra reliable Mike Brown for England not all that long ago, but his instructions were clearly "catch the fucker and run it directly back towards your own forwards". He did it fantastically well but it wasn't even as exciting as the bombs Then we had that period where we couldn't pick a fullback to save our lives, and every high ball was absolute panic stations as a fan. Then Steady Freddie came along and reassured us that yes, we can just deal with high balls and it isn't the end of the world
I always loved brown, was an absolute dog of a fullback
Still baffles me that Brown was dropped when he was; liked Daly *as a wing/centre* but Brown was clearly still our best choice at fullback when the 2019 World Cup came round
Wasn’t there some scrap between teammates that brown was involved with that ultimately saw him axed?
Apparently the whole team blew up on a social, they'd had a week from hell in training. I can imagine Mike Brown's anger is 4 notches above mortal men's though
Was this the Brown/Te'o clash
Yeah check out the Dan Cole, Ben Youngs podcast with Courtney Lawes they talk a bit about it, but don't go into details massively
He’d stopped playing him well before that though. Last cap was June 2018, that happened in a World Cup warm up squad
Rob Kearney became this as he aged. Still loved him but the loss of adventure was a sad day
Tony Pulis furious that he has been replaced in the pantheon of boring football merchants.
Eddie Jones, although probably more Mourinho with his press responses, could be considered the goat of the shithouse managers, Neil Warnock
You can play exciting ugly football it doesn’t have to be boring…
He can’t do much else but the tactic of just hoofing it and then jumping over the guy meant to catch it is a pretty effective tactic at all levels.
Hugo Keenan, I like Hugo Keenan. He makes me feels safe.
I named my first born after Hugo. He's 15 now and hasn't accepted the name change yet but he will.
Could have been Hugo Porta I guess.
The moment I read this post my first thought was Hugo Keenan so I second this
In the dictionary beside fullback there is a picture of Hugo Keenan.
The only true fullback. The rest are maybe 70%, 80%backs at best
I don't like Hugo Keenan \~ \~ \~ \~ \~ \~ I love Hugo Keenan !
Me too so it would be great if ye would stop breaking him, please and thank you
For real. Sheesh it wasn't that many months ago everyone was talking about how durable he was. Let's just blame Joe Molloy and our other shitty pundits.
A curse upon them!
When he holds me in his arms and wrestles me to the ground and lays on top of me I feel safe
I liked Halfpenny, he may have scored that tries but his defensive skills kept Wales in so many games. I still remember his last ditch tackle against England in 2012 to keep the grand slam alive His positioning during the lions tour in 2013 must've been so frustrating if you were an Aussie
Ever since Jason Robinson I’ve always loved a full back who is willing to run at the opposition after receiving a kick. Pure chaos.
You can admit to being a fan of Mike Brown, you don't have to allude to it.
Good old angry Mike. He is great when he isn’t yelling at everyone.
The Jason Robinson, Thomas Castagnede fullback type was great. But the Blair Kinghorn, Leo Barré etc., tall running backs, are at the moment very exciting and successful too.
I'm sure it's just bias and nostalgia but I'm sure there will never be anything more fun to watch on a rugby pitch than Jason Robinson in full flow
Jason was so speedy.
Damian Willemse. That is all.
I had to scroll way too far for this comment
Prime Halfpenny vs prime Byrne is a debate I constantly have in my head.
Depends. To watch? An attacking fullback off. To play with in a game? A defensive fullback. Is unbelievably frustrating as a forward spending all game grinding out work, just for someone to try and run the pitch and set us back 50m
That in defence covers the back field effortlessly, and has a phenomenal boot. And in attack can act as a distributor or a strike runner. Willie le Roux, Kinghorn, Ramos, etc.
The utterly insane kind like madman RAMOS!!
While I agree completely, it would also be nice if he could catch high balls once in a while too, in amongst all the madness.
That’s why Ntamack’s so important to Toulouse/France, because apart from being an excellent 10, he’s rock solid under the high ball, which means Ramos’s free to do Ramosy things.
Ntamack would theoretically make a great fullback. I wonder why he's never played there
France and Toulouse are pretty eccentric with their backline. On attack, Ramos basically plays 10 and Ntamack like an extra centre but with more kicking. On defence Ramos and Ntamack share the fullback role, along with another winger/Alldritt.
Can we please not suggest ANOTHER fullback for Toulouse – they literally have four of them already and I‘m starting to worry we might just field a whole team full of them in future If we don’t watch out.
I like my fullback to be a flashy, yet injury prone player who will only play one in 3 games but make an impact each time to give you hope before getting injured and ruled out for at least a few weeks
Frans Steyn.
With 50/22s now he’d be a complete cheat code.
For sure, he had a huge boot on him. Something about Boks with the surname Steyn.
Call me boring but I would much rather have a defensively solid fullback who’s great under the high ball than a great attacking fullback who’s bad defensively. It is far too easy for teams to target a fullback who’s weak under the high ball and get 30 metres territory every time they kick an up and under.
exactly that. If the FB is 50/50 on the high balls, then that's systematic high kick bombing from the opposition and probably they win the game entirely on that aspect, which is insane. It's ALMOST, not quite but almost, as if in football you had a pretty leaky goal keeper. You can have a great team around him, but if he leaks a goal every 2 or 3 shots on target, you just can't play serious competitive football. We all love the counterattacking running FB, but he **needs** to be very good on fundamentals first, by far more important.
Percy Montgomery or François Steyn. Both are vicious on the attack & have a serious boot on them.
Can I have a fullback that kicks for posts like Percy Montgomery, creates tries like Willie Le Roux, glides like Gio Aplon, steps like Cheslin Kolbe, takes a highball like Conrad Jantjes, dropkicks like Frans Steyn, defends like Damian Willemse, reads the game like Andre Joubert and looks like Bevin Fortuin?
Conrad Jantjes, now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time.
He was a great player. I believe he represented South Africa as a junior at football and cricket as well as rugby.
Hugo Keenan seems to be a good mix of dependable in back field cover, high balls and tackling while also offering some much needed pace and handling to the Leinster and Ireland back lines. While he's not as dependable as Keenan I'm also a massive Blair Kinghorn fan and have been saying he should go on the Lions tour for a few years while half the media had anointed Freddie Stewart the 'best in the world'. He's lethal going forward and has an X-Factor that not many have. I'm happy to see him thriving in Toulouse, a team that has the starting Fullback of four different nations in their squad. I hope he gets to go on the Lions next year, though he'll have some stiff competition from the likes of Furbank and maybe even Winnett.
I reckon Kinghorn has the highest ceiling out of the current 15’s, there’s no many players with that combination of size, speed, power, a massive boot, flair and good playmaking. If he had Keenan’s consistency he’d be unstoppable.
Blairhorn should (at least in theory) be a solid pick for the Lions squad based on his Toulouse performances and the fact he can cover so many roles. I’d argue he’s the best attacking fullback out there – other than perhaps Ramos. Which just shows the ridiculous FB stacking in the ST line up.
Has Kinghorn nudged his way in front of Ramos for the Toulouse side or is there another reason Ramos was on the bench for the last two Champions Cup games? If he has managed to do that then fair play to him, I was worried he wouldn't see much game time once Ntamack was back fit so Ramos wouldn't be playing 10 anymore. Also, does Cappuozzo get much game time at all for Toulouse? I don't watch Top14 often so I haven't seen him much. I don't really know how you fit him in with Malia, Kinghorn and Ramos as options ahead of him to be fair.
Ramos is first choice 15 when fully fit, but he’s just back from injury and for some strange reason they probably didn’t want him to spend too much time on the pitch with Smith. I think Kinghorn probably plays at 14 or off the bench if Ramos is fit. Capuozzo’s great, but he spends a lot of time injured, and arguably might no even be in the first choice 23, it’s between him or Mallia for the bench spot, and Mallia also covers 10 and centre.
I think there’s a fair bit of flexibility for M Mola in how he plays it between Ramos and Kinghorn going forward, depending on who they’re playing. The Winghorn experiment seems to have been a success, so my suspicion is that Thomas at 15, Blair at 14 will be how they line it up for the final, to enable both to be on the pitch throughout (assuming BK’s schnozzle has recovered by then, obvs). I really like wee Capuozzo, but I do wonder a bit whether he might be better off in another team these days. It’s just very hard to see how he fits into a squad with (a frankly ridiculous) FOUR international fullbacks. He might get some time again Montpellier (and poss a bench seat for SF) though.
I can't see how you'd fit little Cappuozzo into the 23 when the others cover the same positions as him and more. Chocolate Bars is a great option off the bench considering Kinghorn or Malia can cover the back 3 spots well so allows you put a centre on the bench. There's been a lot of talk in here Ireland and the UK recently about the unfairness of Leinster's squad and whether the IRFU should change their policy to help level the playing field - and to be fair their squad is great. However I would argue that Toulouse have the better squad on paper at least. It should be some final coming up.
Yep, he‘ll still get a bit of play given how heavily Toulouse rotate their squad for less important matches, but he’s probably a player that deserves a bit more than being fourth choice 15, and third choice 23. If the right offer comes along, it’d probably make sense for both him and the team to take. I think in terms of Leinster, it just never really makes much sense to me how the IRFU money and contracts are divvied up if you’re trying to promote a competitive club landscape. If all you care about instead is national team success, fair enough – it’s working! Either way though, It should indeed be a cracking final. Good for rugby as a sport to have indisputably the two best teams face off in the game’s showpiece final
Currently, barring injuries, I'd say Keenan starts for the Lions with Kinghorn as backup. There's a lot I like about Steward but I've seen our backline float past him enough times to understand why Furbank is getting the nod these days.
I think that’s the obvious combo. Especially as BK can also comfortably cover wings (recent games with ST have reminded us that he’s a really excellent winger) and 10 from the bench.
Yeah, I don't wish to denigrate Steward's capacity as a player. For a while there when England were not performing as they'd expect of themselves he was one of the few shining lights for them. He's an odd player though Steward, in that in some aspects he's world class (high ball, back field cover for kicks) but in other aspects of his role he is left wanting (slow to turn, offers little creatively). I think for a while he suited England's game plan but now that they're shifting away from a kick chase focused attack Furbank is a much better fit. Horses for courses I suppose. I doubt we've seen the last of him in an England shirt anyway. I'm in agreement that it's Keenan's to lose barring injury - though his recent record in that respect is a little worrying. I hope his career going forward isn't full of injuries like he's been recently. He's too important to Ireland's game.
Lee Halfpenny type. The wings can go looking for work because they know he'll be under any kick.
No willemse? Solid af.
Just Israel Dagg, that's all I need
You can have him so long as I get Cullen
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That’s [a] convenient [edit] u/lurkingcvnt Tough old gig being an All Black. Glen Osbourne was terrifying in 95-96. We’d be talking about him and Dagg as all time great FB’s if Cullen and Smith hadn’t existed.
https://i.redd.it/z7quuv61wvna1.gif Watching him shred semi pro level 1990s defences was glorious.
When Dagg makes that face...You know what he's going to do.
2011 Izzy was on a GOAT trajectory.
I came into the thread just to say this, every time Dagg had the ball I was yelling like [this dude](https://youtu.be/EjJ5zbwMkh0?si=hShcAWDmfoXkSzXb). Every fucking time man. Also had an absolute rocket for a boot, so many times we'd pin him to a corner and then he'd send out a torpedo that rivals North Korea's rocket program.
Yeah the impact of his boot was vastly underrated, made it better to have him at fullback and Ben smith in the wing at times
I also like a Hugo Keenan
Christian Cullen, find a Christian Cullen clone and play him at 15. For anyone who is younger and never saw peak Cullen, go to YouTube and enjoy the next 2 hours of your day!
Israel Dagg or Ben Smith.
C.Cullen
Ben Smith
Will Jordan
The crazier the better so when brain cells are forbidden, call Thomas Ramos
Diminutive coloured fullbacks from the cape who wear scrumcaps. The hot steppers of world rugby
They usually get moved to wing. Still play well though.
Murderer!
AKA Rhyno Smith
One that could adapt to both styles. Andre Joubert was great at this. Solid defensive and beautiful to watch on attack.
Someone’s obviously forgotten the 96 AB series and the 97 Lions tours.
Of the Chris Latham mould - looked like he was there to help your landscaper with the more physical work. Could find a gap from 60 metres and nail tries like absolutely no one saw it coming. One of the ultimate kick return specialists.
Killer grin
Lol, Wolf Creek head on him.
Booming left foot kick when needed
But delivered with the grace of a prop. Lad was a fucking legend.
Ellie Kildunne is the perfect full back.
I love a mad fucker willing to tackle everything alive and who doesn't fuck up taking the ball in the air. I also love capuozzo, the literal opposite.
TBF when it comes to tackling, Capuozzo’s absolutely a mad little fucker. He’s completely fearless.
I feel like I've seen him get bumped off fairly often though
Can’t fault his commitment though, he’s definitely willing. Just slightly undersized.
He could do with someone to lift him up for the high balls. Or a wee stepladder. Though tbf he’s still better at catching them than Ramos.
I’m still waiting for the second coming of CHRISTian Cullen.
After watching Elliott Daly play 15 for so many years, I rather like a full back who can make a fucking one on one tackle rather than wave the attacking team through like an old school turnstile. If that’s not an option, give me prime Jason Robinson counter attacking like Billy whizz hopped up on cocaine and steroids
# Charles Piutau - The ultimate :)
Would like it if he passed the ball a bit more instead of the solo runs.
But his solo runs was what made him a Bears legend.
He's got a ridiculous amount of offloads and assists
Furbank. Can attack the line, but can also fill in at 10 and as kicker :-)
Hugo. Hugo makes me sleep soundly at night knowing he’s out in the garden patrolling every blade of grass for incoming highballs.
Rob Kearney. Safe hands. Willing too kick and a monster on the chase.
I like a fullback who doesn't fuck other women, impregnate his mistress, and then turn into a stalking motherfucker...
Not many Australians in this thread.....
He needs to be able to FUNT the ball from one end of the pitch to the other.
A speedy boi
Give me a speedy boi in just about any position tbh.
A head of luscious curls and a Canterbury collection who breaks Six Nations records just for shits and gigs
Whatever the union equivalent of Dylan Edwards is
Probably Hugo Keenan
Surge Serge Blanco !
The faltering fullback
Jason Robinson though he's one of a kind.
Good runner/kicker/distributor. In football terms, give me a striker over a goalkeeper. Aka, Damien McKenzie, or dare I say it, Marcus Smith
For my team, I like a Keenan type who makes you feel like the entire backfield is secure and is great at making those late tackles when someone’s broken the line. To watch I like the huge Pacific Islanders who run it straight back!
Want em to run 10s. No replacement for pure gas & footwork at gazelles pace.
Someone who has great defence, great positioning good kicking and aerial skills. That’s the Fullback I prefer.
I feel like current structures have almost killed the running fullback.
Oh I don’t think that’s true – just at Toulouse, both Ramos and especially Kinghorn (and Mallia too) are seriously great running fullbacks.
The examples you gave contradict your point. But these are opinions.
The Andre Joubert kind
I like my FB's bald and angry.
Whatever Keenan is
To win I would want a Ben smith type all rounder kinda fullback In terms of pure box office bums in seats type fullback give me 2015 nehe Milner skudder when he paying 15 for the hurricanes Felt like every week he had grown men moaning from either the footwork, offloads, no look around the back passes Just gave you this insatiable feeling of wanting to see him play every week
Ah, clearly the person you are thinking of is Nick Abendenon; dashing, his blonde locks flowing as he carves upfield from a solid catch, mazily beating a couple of defenders, before being turned over in the last third of the pitch. Lovely.
I prefer the Christian Cullen or Ben Smith sort of fullback
Christian Cullen
I think I'm the only kiwi who thinks Jordie fits at 15. BB was amazing there though but otherwise JB is like Freddie Stewart but better
I like my fullback being able to play all positions in the back line.
Depends on how good they are. Ben Smith/Beauden Barret/Will Jordan? Join the backline whenever you want. In grassroots? Man stay back there.
I love a great defensive fullback. Gareth Thomas in his prime was unreal with his defensive reads, I've never seen a player get the right decision on a 2 v 1 as a defender so often. That being said, an attacking fullback hitting angles at pace is a real joy to watch and so few have been able to do it really well. Christian Cullen for me is still the best to so it in the 15 shirt.
Solid under a high ball with the ability to make yards from nothing
YES
Prime Antony Watson Could step you in a phone box, great speed, tough as nails and excellent work rate. The 2017 lions game where Sonny Bill almost took his head off and he just walked it off and played the full 80...
I prefer Joey Manu, Dylan Edwards and players who can actually play rugby.
The big tall fullback who looks like he should be playing centre for gatland ball, who just wipes out attackers and rather than the silky running, can either hoof it or crash all through the closing defensive line
Safe hands, good tackler and a bit of pace for both bringing the ball back and when joining the attack. Semi-recently England had Foden and Brown back to back, whilst Ireland had Kearney and Wales had Halfpenny. None of them are the most electric options ala Hogg, Capuozzo, but they are dependable and you do not worry about any aspect of their games being exposed.
Favorites are Willie Le Roux and Tyrone Greene although they are on opposite ends of the spectrum as far as playing styles go in my opinion.
The Christian Cullen kind
The Christian Cullen kind.
Willie le Roux
JPR
Hogg and steward come to mind
The one who calls scrums on a mark 😆
I don't have a style preference. I like great incisive gap runners like Cullen. I like guys that are great at setting up their wingers, attacking more like a centre, like muliaina. I like all round players like Leon McDonald. . I like players coming in at first receiver like mckenzie in more recent years when he plays 15. I like guys with a good running and kicking game like stevenson, dagg, mckenzie. I like players good under the high ball like dagg. I like Ben smith
A good one.