2012 Team Of The Year & Awards

With 2012 coming to a close it's time for me to recognise the year's outstanding players with my very own Tighthead Awards. Also follow this link to see my Team Of 2012 that I picked for The Armchair Selector.

The Tighthead Awards 2012

Tighthead's Player Of The Year: Richie McCaw (New Zealand)

Runner Up: Kieran Read

3rd Place: Conrad Smith

Northern Hemisphere Player Of The Year: Wesley Fofana (France)

Runner Up: Dan Lydiate

Breakthrough Player Of The Year: Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)

Runner Up: Julian Savea

One To Watch For 2013: Christopher Tolofua (France)

Runner Up: TJ Perenara

Tier 2* Player Of The Year: Khan Fotuali'i (Samoa)

Runner Up: Sona Taumololo

Developing Nations Player Of The Year: Mamuka Gorgodze (Georgia)

Runner Up: Vasily Armitiev (Russia)

Domestic Awards

Super Rugby Player Of The Year: Aaron Cruden (Chiefs)

Runner Up: Sonny Bill Williams

Heineken Cup Player Of The Year: Jonathan Sexton (Leinster)

Runner Up: Ruan Pienaar

*Tier 2 nations are Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Japan, Canada, USA and Romania.

Merry Christmas,
Tighthead

Lion Hunting #3 - Half-backs

It would be fair to say that there is not a huge wealth of talent in the half-back positions in the Home Nations at the moment (Despite Owen Farrell's bizarre inclusion in the IRB's player of the year shortlist). All four nations are going through an uncertain period as to the selection of at least one of these positions. England are still looking for Jonny Wilkinson's long-term replacement and are rotating their scrum-halves, Wales are also going through a post-Stephen Jones transition phase, there is great debate in Ireland about the scrum-half position and Scotland haven't quite figured out which half-back plays where yet. Gatland's (and myself for that matter) got a task on his hand hands sorting this lot out.

Fly-half

The only player who has his international spot set in stone is Ireland's Johnny Sexton. Sexton consistently performs excellently at provincial level with Leinster and although he doesn't transfer his match-winning performances to international level very often he is still a very solid player. He kicks his goals, kicks well out of hand and is adequate in defense. He may not be the most exciting selection but he certainly has the ability to dictate a game and that is the attribute that is what is most needed to be a Lions fly-half. Also the fact that he has no credible competition helps.

England's number one fly-half at the moment is Toby Flood. He offers a fair bit in attack as he attacks the gain line well and adds pace to the game but he is weak defensively and prone to underperforming under pressure. To play for the Lions nerves of steel are a must and that is something Flood's current understudy Owen Farrell has in abundance. Farrell is something of a polar opposite to Flood. Farrell makes up for what he lacks in attacking ability with defensive solidity and superb kicking. A team with Farrell in may have to play a very limited game but at least Farrell plays this game very well. We saw Farrell at his best against the All Blacks where he did nothing special but the simple things very well and England thrived on playing a very direct game that had reminisces of the World Cup winning England of 2003. This why i would take Farrell to Australia ahead of Flood. 

My third choice fly-half would be Wales' James Hook because of his playmaking ability and versatility. Rhys Priestland, Wales' number one 10, doesn't make the cut because of his poor recent form and neither do any of Scotland's scrum-half come fly-haves for obvious reasons. Freddie Burns who is playing well at club level for Gloucester could be a possible bolter if he breaks into the English team in the Six Nations.

Scrum-half

Scrum half is a position that normally seems to go to the Welsh guy (Mike Phillips and Dwayne Peel on the last two tours) and for me this tradition continues into 2013. Yes, I know Phillips is not playing particularly well but for me he's the man for the job. We must remember who the Lions are playing next Summer. They're playing the Wallabies who happen to have the best scrum-half in the world right now in Will Genia. The Lions need someone who can deal with Genia who will most definitely be sniping around the rucks at every opportunity. It could be said that if you stop Genia you stop the Wallabies because he is their main source of creativity. At least Phillips can stand up to Genia physically. He also controls the game very well which is crucial and he certainly hasn't been the source of all Wales' problems recently.

I pick Danny Care over Ben Youngs as my reserve scrum-half because I believe that Care controls the game better, something that Youngs is very poor at, and also he is more aggresive which will be key against Genia. Youngs is probably a better runner but in my opinion that is the only aspect of the game which he is better at than Care. Conor Murray Ireland's scrum-half isn't really in contention in my book because he isn't even Ireland's best scrum-half and Eoin Reddan is an outsider.

Fly-half : Sexton
Backup : Hook, Farrell

Scrum-half : Phillips
Backup : Care, Youngs

Lion Hunting #2 - Centers

Centre will be a difficult selection for Gatland and the boys. There is not the wealth of talent there once was in the three quarters. It is unlikely that the Roberts, O'Driscoll partnership will line-up like they did in South Africa where they were very impressive. O'Driscoll has aged another 4 years and lost another few yards of pace. He has been hampered by injury also which hasn't helped. He was once the best runner with ball in hand in the game, quick, powerful and evasive but unfortunately his body will no-longer allow him to do this. He was never a playmaking center and although he is still a world class defender and reader of the game and his experience would be an asset it is time for a changing of the guard.

If I was to simply pick the best outside centre and the best inside centre I would pick Tuilagi at 13 and Roberts at 12 but in my opinion it is crucially important to pick a balanced centre partnership which this is not as Tuilagi and Roberts are both direct runners. This would make the team's attack one dimensional and I think they have to offer a different threat in one of the centre positions.

Manu Tuilagi is the outstanding centre in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment. He is accustomed to playing at 13 where he has more space to run into but I believe he is also capable of being a class second five. He can fix defenders with his hard running opening up space out wide as Nonu does for the All Blacks but he can also bring other player into play outside him by using his freakish power to break the line and utilising his offload game.



Jonathan Davies offers this 'different threat' I was talking about. He is used to playing outside a direct running centre with Wales and he is very good in exploiting the space in wide areas created by a hard running second five inside of him. He reads the game very well and spots space which he exploits with his strong running. He also has the ability to be a playmaker and bring other players into play outside him.

Another potential candidate is the impressive versatile Scotsman Stuart Hogg. Brad Barrit may also be considered because of his defensive solidity

Starting : 13) Davies, 12) Tuilagi
Backup : O'Driscoll, Roberts, Hogg (Covering fullback also)

Tighthead

Match Of The Day - Leinster vs Clermont Preview

The Teams:
Leinster: 15 Ian Madigan, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Gordon D'Arcy, 12 Andrew Goodman, 11 Isa Nacewa, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Sean O'Brien, 5 Damien Browne, 4 Leo Cullen (capt), 3 Mike Ross, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Heinke Van Der Merwe.

Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Kevin McLaughlin, 21 Issac Boss, 22 Andrew Conway, 23 David Kearney.

Clermont: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Aurélien Rougerie (c), 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Naipolioni Nalaga, 10 Brock James/David Skrela, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Julien Bardy, 6 Julien Bonnaire, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Raphael Chaume. 
Replacements: 16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Daniel Kotze, 19 Loïc Jacquet, 20 Alexandre Lapandry, 21 Ludo Radosavljevic, 22 David Skrela/Benson Stanley, 23 Regan King.

Kick-off: 15.40 GMT, Aviva Stadium, Dublin.

Referee: Wayne Barnes

After last weeks abrasive encounter at Stade Marcel Michelin we can expect more of the same from Dublin this evening. Today's game is simply do or die for Leinster. If they lose their title defense is effectively dead and if Clermont come out with four points they are all but through to the quarter-finals.

Last Week: 

Leinster and Clermont are without doubt two of the strongest sides in Europe at the moment. Both have strong packs, exciting backlines and resilient defense. Unfortunately from a spectators point of view last week we saw a bit too much of the resilient defense and not a huge amount of the exciting backlines. The game was, however, enthralling to watch, a  physical battle between two teams playing at the very highest standard of the game. In the end, as normally happens when teams visit Clermont, the home side came away with a hard fought win but Leister did salvage a losing bonus point which is no mean feat and could prove crucial when deciding who progresses to the knockout stages of the competition. The teams last met in a group stage double-header in the 2010/2011 season when Leinster got a bonus point away and won at home. They of course ended up winning the group and eventually their second Heineken Cup.

Leinster:

Leinster made two changes from last week, Eoin Reddan comes in for Isaac Boss at scrum half and Shane Jennings in for Kevin McLaughlin in the back row (Séan O'Brien shifts to the blindside with Jennings coming in at 7). Both these changes hint to a more attacking approach from Joe Schmidt. Reddan's strengths are his quick distribution and accurate passing where Boss offers more of a physical presence. Leinster obviously knew what to expect going to France and so they should after the several times these two sides have been drawn against each other. Clermont like to play in typical Top 14 style and them being at home there was no way Leinster were going to make them play otherwise. Leinster's game plan was to match Clermont at their own game. They prepared for a battle of attrition and therefore picked a scrum half who could deal with that type of game including heavy pressure from the Clermont back row around the fringes. McLaughlin would also have been picked because of this game plan. McLaughlin offers more size and stronger ball carrying around the fringes than Jennings. McLaughlin is also an excellent back-row lineout operator and his selection helped cancel out Clermont's Nathan Hines who is one of the best in the world. The selection of Reddan hints towards Leinster wanting to feed their backs with more quick ball and play a wider game stretching Clermont out of their comfort zone.

Jennings is a traditional openside and is much more mobile than both McLaughlin and O'Brien. His job will to be secure quick ball for Leinster to play with and disrupting Clermont's ball preventing them from building up any momentum. This will be particularly important looking at how fierce the breakdown battle was last week. He will aim to control the tempo at which the game is played at both when Leinster and have the ball and when Clermont have it. rather than making tackles and carrying around the fringes like the Leinster backrow did last week Jennings will operate in wider areas linking up with the backline in attack and chopping down Clermont's midfield runners which is where Leinster will try and force Clermont to play. The inclusion of Jennings means that Séan O'Brien moves to 6 and has had the burden of trying to be at every breakdown securing Leinsters ball removed from his back and he is now free to do more of what he does best, running with the ball in open play.

Clermont:

For me, Clermont are one of the most frustrating teams in world rugby. You look at their team sheet and you think, "How have they not won a Heineken Cup yet?". Their line-up is world class and often we see how great they can be but they somehow always fail to deliver at the most important times and often don't fulfill their potential. They are the prime example as to why French teams with all their money just haven't delivered in Europe recently with the exception of Toulouse. The Top 14 game is just too limited. It is almost as if the teams are afraid to lose because of all the money they have invested. Week-in-week-out the best players in the world are sent out to run into each other and bash the others into submission with an out-half behing them kicking everything. You can't help but feel this is a huge waste of talent. We know Clermont have an extremely strong and abrasive forward pack and we see them being used every week but rarely do we see some of the most exciting backs in the world in Wesley Fofana and Sitivini Sivivatu given a license to show all their talents.

Brock James faces a late fitness test and will be replaced by David Skrella if he is declared unfit but I son't think there is much difference between the too. Both are stellar kickers but out-half is the one position where Clermont lack a world class player. Under pressure both these players are vulnerable and a bit flaky. They are inconsistent and if Leinster start to grab a hold of the game either of them could buckle.

Verdict:

This promises to be another tight and fascinating encounter. Whoever wins it wont be by much. Leinster will have to grab hold of the game early on and not let Clermont drag the game into a battle of the packs. If that happens then its anyones game. I think that home advantage and a couple of astute tactical changes should tip the balance in Leinsters favour but not by much.

Leinster By 5

Tighthead

Lion Hunting #1 - The Back Three

As we are entering a long enough break until the next international rugby fest, I have decided that I am going to publish a series of posts naming who I would like to see on the plane to Australia next June. My team is as of post Autumn internationals put it is not purely based on form but just who I would like to see on the plane. We will begin by looking at the back three.

Halfpenny was a shining light in a disapointing Welsh team this Autumn and has been consistently the best running fullback in the British Isles. He just edges out Kearney who is excellent under the high ball and on his day can be a counter-attacking threat but for me Halfpenny edges it. Other noteworthy contenders are Ben Foden, who needs to find some form to be considered, and Alex Goode who had a good Autumn series but still has a lot to prove.

Starting Fullback : Halfpenny
Backup : Kearney

Tommy Bowe is the best finisher in Britain and Ireland. He has pace, power, a good pair of hands and a top rugby brain. He may not be the most exciting winger ont the planet but he is certainly one of the most complete. George North didn't have the best of Autumns but he can cause any defense problems with his size and power. He can change games and this makes his selection a no-brainer for me. The Dutch-Scotsman Tom Visser will need to have an excellent 6 nations to be selected considering his international inexperience but he has all the ability to do that and could well force his way in as a bolter. Chris Ashton is one of the most high profile omissions from my squad. When he wants to Ashton is a superb strike runner but too often these days he drops in and out of games and makes a substantial number of silly errors. We all know what he can do but for me he doesn't do it enough. Alex Cuthbert is another viable candidate.

Starting Wings : Bowe, North
Backup : Cuthbert, Visser

Tighthead

Video Of The Week - 14/7/12

A novel take on the Autumn internationals by Canterbury.