Really at professional level we can't afford to have these pet projects. His fitness has improved but is still nowhere near good enough for a professional player. Number 8 would be a major no-no imo. I just don't see a future for this lad at a professional club, hopefully he'll prove me wrong this season. Dan McFarland is no fool and he obviously sees enough in him around the field to convince him he can make a player out of him but he has to start repaying that faith soon.

I know what you mean. I'll be very interested to see what Pat Lam thinks of him and if he stays or goes after next season. Next season will be make or break for him.

Really at professional level we can't afford to have these pet projects. His fitness has improved but is still nowhere near good enough for a professional player. Number 8 would be a major no-no imo. I just don't see a future for this lad at a professional club, hopefully he'll prove me wrong this season. Dan McFarland is no fool and he obviously sees enough in him around the field to convince him he can make a player out of him but he has to start repaying that faith soon.

rossie wrote: rodneys size wud be an issue. id imagine the props wud require arm extensions to bind around him but then i never played front row.

When he first came over he was certainly a bit too rotund for hooker but I seen him around town once or twice this year and he's slimmed down. Massive chest though so perhaps binding would be a problem after all.... :dry:

I think he's also too short for an 8, can't be more than six foot, and would have to slim down even more to keep up the pace, at that point you'd be better off trying to fit muldoon into that role (!)

At the minute it would seem like Rodders would be of most use at loosehead, but I don't think he was ever really intended for that role despite being described as able to play both sides (we all know what that really means by now). Also Buckley has looked very promising at loosehead and Wilkinson is more than dependable 90% of the time and rarely enough injured, so there's little use for him there.

In fairness to him he came to the sport very late and plays a position that its accepted players mature latest, but even so its very hard to keep your patience with him....

connachtexile wrote: So converting him to Hooker is at least worth a look by our coaching team. Instead they went for Heffernan who while younger was up to this point a back row player and while I'm not an expert in rugby training I'm assuming it's an easier transition for a prop to convert to hooker than a flanker. What do other people think?

JHW is your perfect example of backrow to hooker and it is common enough from what I use to notice at school. Anyone who was a short backrow at junior level was converted. Ah You can barely scrummage at TH or LH so no I don't trust to him learn another position there. Most modern day top class hookers have the physique of a flanker but not the height. That is why JHW was converted from an 8 to a 2.

If I remember correctly some former no. 8 reamed me out of it here for saying that. Careful swift4prez :lol:

I don't think Ah You's size would be that big an issue but again I'm no expert on the front row. I for one would think he'd add extra heft and grunt to a fairly light pack at the moment. Wilkinson - Ah You - White would be a fierce front row.

stick rodney on a treadmill all summer to actually get him fit. when pre-season comes around, we have our very own nick williams.

rodney at 8 = 5 extra trys a season

rodneys size wud be an issue. id imagine the props wud require arm extensions to bind around him but then i never played front row.

Thinking about Connacht last night it occurred to me that when we chatting about Dave Heffernan playing Hooker for the Eagles it never occurred to any of us to ask why they didn't look at Rodney Ah You at Hooker.
I think apart from EE and McFarland the rest of the province is convinced he can't scrummage at the moment. That might change as he matures and gets better but when we see him come on the field a collective shudder goes down the spine of the Clan Stand. That's not to say that Ah You doesn't have assets, he gets around the pitch and carries the ball well. So converting him to Hooker is at least worth a look by our coaching team. Instead they went for Heffernan who while younger was up to this point a back row player and while I'm not an expert in rugby training I'm assuming it's an easier transition for a prop to convert to hooker than a flanker. What do other people think?