Advance apologies for the long post.
I have been reading many of the posts on this board regarding the Lions and England selections with a mixture of interest, amazement and wonder.
I have played and coached at a reasonably high level, not the lofty heights of the higher divisions but at county and and club level.
When playing I was interested in how coaches viewed players in their positions, why they liked and didn't like them, how they selected their starting 15 and then the bench. What they saw in some players that I couldn't see and why they couldn't see what I saw in others. This continued into my coaching career.
Looking at a player and what you consider makes them good, bad or middling stems from a number of different factors.
1 what style of rugby do you want your team to play
2 is the player able to adapt themselves to that style of play
3 what does the coach consider to be the key skills needed in the position, the unit, the team and the squad within which that player will fit
4 will the player execute the game plan as the coaches want it executed
5 is the player adaptable to other positions and also their place within the hierarchy of the squad
6 do you have time to bend a game plan/framework to a player or does that player have to fit immediately into your game plan/framework
All of these and a few more will go through a coaches head when looking at a player. I have had many intense discussions with my assistant coaches over the merits of different players. We all see something different in each and every player. Just because I like one player more than another for what they bring doesn't mean that they are a bad player. It just means that I am after a different tool for the job.
For the Lions the coaches will need to bring the players together into a close knit squad very quickly. They will want certain types of characters and types of leaders and followers in order to get the squad to meld. Perhaps our Wasps players just weren't the types the Lions or England coaches are after.
Don't forget, there have been many times when posters on this board have said that they wouldn't want player X, Y or Z from another team in our squad. Players that are performing week in week out at their own club. What works for Wasps will not work for others and vice versa.
Wasps play a loose, fast and exciting game, one where we rely on scoring more than we concede. Our players are used to that idea and style of play. They are not overly aggressive at the contact point, nor do we indulge in any afters. We are honest, hardworking and skilful rugby players we are not hard nosed and if I was brutally honest we are just not nasty enough. Wasps would benefit from a Lawrence, a Volley, a Lewsey or a Worsley but Wasps have never been a side that boast the more physical aggressive player. Instead we are a little more scalpel then axe but at times you need and axe and more than just one!
I am sure that over the next few weeks we will see more of our beloved Wasps playing in red or white but as long as they wear black and gold that's enough for me.
PtB
