What Premiership level do you feel our players are rated at? From "5" being a top Premiership performer to "0" not quite there.
We have a squad of 56 players, which includes our academy, how many of these players do you feel are in the top eschelon of Premiership rugby players and who are not quite making the grade either through experience or lacking in the necessary skills.
This is not to denegrate or poke sticks at players, but to discuss what we as supporters see, which is not necessarily what the coaches see day to day
It is a very tough question as many of us would, understandably, hold faith with everyone of our players. However in the cold light od day critically some of our players are much better than others and some struggle to compete at this level. This does not mean to say that they are not valued members of the team or that they do not give everyting they have in their lockers. In fact many of the less talented players work harder, are more committed than the more "capable players.
Please take into account this is my own opinion based on what I currently see and comparing with what I see when watching other clubs play. I have ignored their status from where they came from or at what level thay have achieved in the past it is how they have played in the current season.
A player's capability is a very hard thing to assess, is it how he performs at set pieces, open field play, in attack or in defence, I feel it is a mixture of all of these however the priority is different by position. For example a Prop has a much higher effect at the set piece than say a fullback or winger. Once the set piece is completed then focus and importance moves to other positions but that does not mean that the props job is done. It is this extra that really makes an outstanding player. For example we have one of the best scrummagers in the country but his open field play is below that of others not so gifted and therefore gets overlooked for International selection.
In the table below I have tried to grade each player taking into accounts all aspects of their games and the impact they have the games in which they play. Impact is a very important factor.
I have highlighted players who I also believe are X Factor players for us. What do I mean by X factor?
An X factor player is someone who from ansolutely no where creates something really special which can change the course of the game, be it a lock who makes a fantastic steal to a fullback who counter attacks and makes 90meters through several defenders to score under the posts.
I have also highlighted players who have come through our development system or Academy, at present this accounts for 50% of our totak squad and 2 of them are X Factor players for the club.
What do you think?
Remember I am not right or wrong, it is just my thoughts
Agree with most of that but wouldn’t have Miller on the same as Pennell and Lawrence and equally think Fidow looks good. Also think weirdly Callum Black has scrummaged very well since lockdown. He’ll never be great in the lose but neither is Schonert who I think, personally, is vastly overrated.
Would also not have Humphreys or GJVV that high. Lawrence is pure class too. He was the only bright spark in attack last night.
Nick David should be the same as whatever you rank Humphreys. Currently a solid prem player but not spectacular. Harsh on Shilly, Kai Owen, Lawrence and Heaney (I'd say Heaney is still our 2nd best scrum half - has the most consistent passing and kicking game).
I feel we have a few players who should be nailed on starters but through injury haven't quite made it yet - Mama and Humphreys being examples
I agree that the players you've ranked as 5 would be players that would walk into most other premiership sides / that most other clubs would be very happy to have.
At best, the rest are 'work in progress'.
I wonder what an equivalent chart would look like at Exeter or Sarries? I suspect 50-75% would be rated 5.
The thing this misses is X factor / game changers. Can't see too many of those at the moment in Wuss colours.
Not sure i like the ranking of players by premiership quartile. But certainly wouldn’t put Annett in the bottom one. Would prefer we stick to good enough or not to hold a squad place in a premiership team. - which would probably back your point JP that we just rank as hanging in there in the league. 5-6 academy players still are a good season off the mark as yet for sure
Why is van Breda rated so low at zero and often the same by Solomons? Don't understand. He is like the 'fall guy' for not even playing. If he is not rotated into the squad like Wier / Lance, then if I were him, I'd look for another club. Solomon's has a mental block wrt van Breda.
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