Mackay is certainly an excellent 7's player and will bring plenty of mobility to the pack.
I would have seen him as an impact bench player covering #4-6,8 rather than just being labelled a Lock though.
New signing locked in
John-Paul Moloney, Canberra Times
October 29, 2008 - 12:59PM
They might not always build them big at Sydney's Waverley College, but they certainly build them well.
The relatively light frame of ACT Brumbies No8 Stephen Hoiles has long posed a quandary for Test selectors. While blessed with a wide range of skills, his 98kg frame was first held against him by John Connolly and now, seemingly, by Robbie Deans.
Following in the Hoiles tradition is his former schoolmate, new Brumbies rookie lock Shawn Mackay.
At 102kg, he is at least 10kg lighter than a typical lock and a couple of centimetres shorter.
But what Mackay has at his disposal is rare athleticism. He was so gifted an 800m runner he was unbeaten at Sydney's top schools athletics carnival for three years.
He played junior league at the Sydney Roosters after school and then more recently has put his speed and endurance to use as captain of the Australian Sevens team.
Yesterday he finished an impressive second in a "yo yo" endurance test (similar to a beep test) to renowned fitness star Julian Salvi.
Mackay said he believed his athleticism and workrate could prove major assets to the Brumbies next season.
"That's what I feel I'm around for and if I can give 100 per cent then my positive energy should filter around the boys," Mackay said.
"With the new ELVs, a running back-rower or even a running lock, they've got some skills to offer in the 15-a-side game. This is my time, my time to shine and I'm really looking forward to it."
Brumbies coach Andy Friend first encountered Mackay on the Sevens circuit in 2005 and was impressed by what he saw.
When the ACT appointed Friend as Laurie Fisher's replacement, one of the first questions he asked was, "What's happened to Shawn Mackay?"
As it happened, Mackay was trying in vain to crack a spot in Queensland's squad and very much available.
Friend said his stature wasn't a concern.
"To me it's just not that important. Look at Hoiles, look at Matt Giteau. You don't have to be a big player to be successful at this level.
"Obviously you don't want a pack of lightweights, but what you get with a player like Shawn is real dynamism."
While Friend is prepared to back a player seemingly custom-made for the faster experimental law variations era, when he sits his front-rowers down in the next few weeks, he'll be pushing more traditional values.
A tighthead prop must hold up the right side of a scrum, a loosehead must be able to disrupt the left, a hooker must be able to hit his jumpers in the lineout.
Friend said other skills, such as quick hands or footwork, were "stocking fillers" handy to have, but ancillary to the main business.
"There's a tendency these days to try to have players who are all things to everybody. We've sat down as a coaching staff and worked out a basic job description for each player.
"They'll have to perform those fundamental tasks and everything else will be secondary."
New scrum coach and former Brumbies and Test prop, Bill Young, will arrive in Canberra next week to ram home that message.
