rossie wrote: On the matter or props, the French and english who both know a bit about scrummaging prefer a th of around 6ft and they tend to play the bigger man on the loosehead side. we in ireland tend to have gone the other way and it hasnt worked out too well for us.The train of thought is a more compact th has a better chance of getting under the loosehead at engagement and can push up and in on the hooker causing him to pop up and force the peno. The Bigger Loosehead and Hooker will ganng up on opposite Th and try to push him up or down looking for the peno.
The prominent lhs in Aviva off the top of my head are Huge men both in height and weight, men like sheridan and Tongawia(apologise for spelling). I think that both dave and Maguire are both ideal candidates for conversion and its generally considered easier to change to loosehead than the other way.
I personally would recommend Dave for conversion as i agree with Connacht exile that he wont make it as a tight head but he has ability. He needs to loose some weight and get fitter but there is Pace and power there but he doesnt have the necessery amount of skullduggery in his Persona to survive at th at scrum time.
If he managed the switch that would leave Wilko sharing LH with Dave and Buckley backing up, Loughney sharing TH with White and Maguire backing up(although Maguire mite want to consider converting longterm) so any signing should be capable of covering both sides.
A hooker and centre are higher priority though.
Certainly this article backs that up. For TH you don't just need to be big, but aggressive with it. The ones that succeed have a bit of dog about them, something that the likes of Buckley & Maguire while being massive men badly lack.
The typical tight-head prop
The tight-head is stronger, a better scrummager and likely to be the bigger of the two props. He is the cornerstone of the front row and the scrum. He must take pride in this role first and foremost, and be prepared to confront the opposition.
The tight-head should be the more technical player, especially since he is up against two players, not one.
The typical loose-head prop
The loose-head usually prefers to play a more open game than the tight-head. They tend to be more aggressive and likely to want to disrupt the opposition. "[Loose-heads] like a chance to be a pain in the [neck]", says Rob Ambler, hooker, Cranleigh Rugby Club.
Because they are only engaging the other pack with one shoulder, a loose-head prop is better able to "aggravate" the opposing tight-head. Put simply, they have more freedom to change angles and use their free arm disruptively.
So why is Carl Hayman a tight-head and Andrew Sheridan a loose-head?
The following is a comparison of two of the biggest props around. They have similar physical characteristics, but play in opposing positions. Why is that?
The former All Black tight-head, Carl Hayman, stands 1.93m (6' 3") tall, and weighs about 115kg. He is widely regarded as one of the world's best scrummagers. Not only physically enormous, Hayman is also technical strong and so fufills the main criteria for a tight-head prop.
Andrew Sheridan plays for England and was part of the British Lions squad that toured New Zealand in 2005. Like Hayman, Sheridan is huge and powerful. He is 1.96m (6' 5") tall, weighs in at 130kg, and can bench press two and half times his body weight. Consequently, one might think that Sheridan has the physical characteristics of a tight-head.
However, Sheridan only converted to the front row relatively recently, and so plays on the less technical loose-head side. In addition, he contributes well in open play, so playing loose-head gives him more flexibility out of the scrum.
With more experience, he may be a tight-head for the future. As Andrew Millward of the Ospreys says, "Most props, if they are going to change, will start on the loose-head side and then move to tight-head."
The pros and cons of specialising
Specialising
It is good to specialise because you can perfect your art. If a player is faced with a different prop each week, they will, over time, encounter similar situations, learn what to do, and then immediately be able to react. Each role suits certain body shapes and types of mind. Some players just prefer to play only one side because they want to be a certain type of player.
Darren Garforth, formerly of Leicester and England: "Tight-head is a completely different position. I couldn't play at loose-head. Tight-head is a more confrontational position where you have to be strong to stay square, whereas loose-head involves agility and getting into gaps."
(Quoted on Leicester Tigers website:
www.tigers.co.uk
.)
Playing either role
A prop who can play either role provides the team with flexibility. He can either "step across" if there is an injury to the other prop and the substitute is too inexperienced to play in the injured prop's position, or play as a replacement for either prop.
If one prop is under enormous pressure, or weaker than the other prop, then they can be given a break in the game by swapping sides at some of the scrums. It can be useful when one of the props is visibly tiring as well, or to simply surprise or disrupt the opposition.
The most capped prop in the world, Jason Leonard (the former England and British Lions player), highlights two advantages of playing both tight-head and loose-head. First, Leonard earned his early Lions appearances from his ability to play out of position. This flexibility gives props more game time because they can compete for two places.
Second, though he had to change his technique, Leonard understood what the opposition prop least wanted to face, because he knew what it was like to play there.
However, Leonard considers that whilst players can play both roles, they shouldn't flit between the two. They need "long enough to get used to it [playing each position]" to play well.
The real struggle comes when the player becomes tired and loses concentration. As Leonard says, "The positions are very different and demand opposite body angle and the use of different muscles."
www.betterrugbycoaching.com/Article-491-...s-Role-of-the-props#
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