12 replies to this topic

[booboo]

Please nominate who you think was the most bodacious blind side of 2011 with your reasons.

If you disagree with a nomination then this thread is your chance to do so – you must say WHY though: furnish reasons for your disagreement! (Or run the risk of deletion!).

Debate at this stage of the process is encouraged.

Polls will be put up later listing nominations’ pros and cons.

(Clarifications:

We're looking for a blindside flanker, not necessarily the player who plays in No.6. Some less educated rugby playing nations play their 6 in 7, i.e., South Africa.

Also, some Nations play a lft right 2 x 6.5 type system (i.e., France) ... we'll work that one out as we go)

[Nepia]

Jerome Kaino: The best guy playing rugby this year. In a team of champions he was always a standout. His defence is superb, his attack is both workmanlike and brilliant, and he leads by example. I'm sure I don't need to provide anymore reasons - everyone watched him play this year!

[junior]

Do we count Dusautoir as an open or blindside? He's more an openside in my book, so I'll nominate his backrow partner, Julien Bonnaire. Probably the unsung hero of a backrow who were immense in the last 3 weeks of the RWC.

[booboo]

junior said:

Do we count Dusautoir as an open or blindside? He's more an openside in my book, so I'll nominate his backrow partner, Julien Bonnaire. Probably the unsung hero of a backrow who were immense in the last 3 weeks of the RWC.

Yeah I'm thinking the same, hence my "clarification" above. Will consider arguments if others really really think he's a blindside.

[Nepia]

Either way, I hope that the Fern has better judgement than the IRB .

[antipodean]

Nomination: Kaino.
Reason: Stand out performer all year in the world's premiere back row. Scares competitors with his tackling, offered metres every time he ran the ball.

[booboo]

Adding to the Kaino love : his tackle on Genia in the Semi final where he picked him and threw him around. It was a thing of beauty and brings a tear to the eye.

[MiketheSnow]

Jerome Kaino
Consistently great. Not often you see those two words together. Not often you see a player like Kaino.

[cd_wilson]

booboo said:

Adding to the Kaino love : his tackle on Genia in the Semi final where he picked him and threw him around. It was a thing of beauty and brings a tear to the eye.

More love for Kaino ... same semi final, stopping a rampaging Digby Ioane from scoring.

[mariner4life]

As much as i love Kaino, and even though i know he is going to win this by a landslide, it can't be a poll of 2.

Schalk Burger deserves his annual nomination. He was fucking awesome at Super level, and his test form carried on from there. He's not right in the head, but by christ he goes hard for 80 minutes every game.

[dK]

Maybe we can add in Gorgodze from Georgia, was a dominant player for his team in all the RWC matches I saw and he carves it up in Top 14 week in week out. Shows he was listed as a 7, but plays a more traditional Blind side than a fetcher[h=%2$s]%2$s[/h]

[booboo]

dK - 6 and 7 are often just a number for some countries. NZ and Aus have in recent years settled on 6 being the blindsice and 7 the open. Whereas SA seem to go the opposite, and France just don't seem to care which is which - or even have a specific open/blind differentiation. So I'm happy to accept Gorgodze as a nomination for blindside.

[Nepia]

mariner4life said:

As much as i love Kaino, and even though i know he is going to win this by a landslide, it can't be a poll of 2.

Schalk Burger deserves his annual nomination. He was fucking awesome at Super level, and his test form carried on from there. He's not right in the head, but by christ he goes hard for 80 minutes every game.

I think Dan Carter has the highest percentage of the vote at 95% one year. I expect Kaino to get above that this year. If not I will go postal .

But I second your Schalk nomination the guy is a machine (except for the one test where he turned into Ali Williams' bitch a good few years ago now).