Captains

[jazza93]

I think the best way to lead a team is with a good leader at halfback and a good leader at 10, with lots of communication between the two.

The best place for a captain is the halfback, He knows whats going on in the rucks and how the backs are going. A loud and a good leader at halfback brings alot to a team.


Any good captain knows how to speak to the ref so a winger who respects the ref would make a better captain then a crazy halfback.

[NTT]

A captain should play wherever he plays well. If the captain is close enough to the action to be in the referees ear constantly it can have two effects. The most common one is referees get sick of captains who persistently question calls which can have a detrimental affect on the way the referee interprets whats happening. The less common one is the referee shares a joke and ignores it.
Being the captain should involve three things: Being a natural leader who commands respect, the ability to inspire others and a level head.
There is plenty of opportunity for a captain who plays in the outside backs to ask for refereeing interpretations to be explained. Mortlock does it well.

My preference is anywhere between lock and outside centre as these positions are the backbone positions of a rugby team.

[welshrugbyfan]

A captain should play wherever he plays well. If the captain is close enough to the action to be in the referees ear constantly it can have two effects. The most common one is referees get sick of captains who persistently question calls which can have a detrimental affect on the way the referee interprets whats happening. The less common one is the referee shares a joke and ignores it.
Being the captain should involve three things: Being a natural leader who commands respect, the ability to inspire others and a level head.
There is plenty of opportunity for a captain who plays in the outside backs to ask for refereeing interpretations to be explained. Mortlock does it well.

My preference is anywhere between lock and outside centre as these positions are the backbone positions of a rugby team.

"Nobody"? NTT has a clue.

[NTT]

Well i dont want to show any preference but i played mostly at lock and captained 6 grand final sides for 3 wins and 3 losses. In those 3 losses i was injured in 1 and suspended in 1. As for my record as WA u/19s captain well i'd rather not remember my record of 0 from 1 against Hamilton Boys High who were the New Zealand schoolboys champions at the time, who had 5 or 6 guys in the NZ schools side.

You wont find a better captain than Eales, i agree.

[Woody]

First and foremost the captain must be in the XV as a player, generally for 80 minutes. I don't really go the #7 with the game as it is today, their focus has to be on the breakdown and smashing the oppersite 10.
As they push the off-side line so much the ref is oftening speaking directly to them about that (McCaw, Smith).
9s are often good at telling their players what to do (it is their job) but can piss refs off as many are smartarses (again, it is their job, Marshall, vander westhuzien, Gregan).
10s have got enough decisions to make. Outside of that is starting to get a little far from the action and trotting in, as Mortlock has to, loses a little spontanaity.
I think history would show that a large number of the best captains have been locks, with Johnson and Eales at the front of that group.
Front rowers are a little too head down arse (like 7s buried with the ball), but Fitzy was one of the Blacks best.
For my money I think that #8 is the most suitable position. Very likely to be physical, large, good defender and attacker, slightly higher IQ than the numbers lower than 7, close to the action without being so close he is unsighted, will have a raport (sp?) with backs and forwards, has the second best view of the game (after the 15).
Richie MaCaw captains New Zealand as he is one of very few first choice players when the first team is picked each year.

[welshrugbyfan]

Got to be a lock forward, for some reason they have always seemed to have been the great captains.

Now I love the Welsh team but great players come from all over the world. I have always had the utmost respect for what I believe was the greatest player (Not based on skill alone) in the modern game. John "Nobody" Eales.

His team mates called him "Nobody" as a nickname. Why? Because "Nobodys perfect", and he was.

That Bledisloe cup game when he said to his team mates "I'll take the kick" is the greatest rugby moment I have ever seen and this is coming from the most one eyed Welsh rugby fan you will meet.

For a lock to step up, take the kick and win the game and the cup is a true showing of how great he was.

Now if anyone can tell me in the 98 Bledisloe cup why he fired up and punched on with the greatest sledger of all time Sean Fitzpatrick I would love to know. It was the only time I have ever seen him lose his cool like that.