Lol'd at the news saying Sam Whitelock "best lock in the world" or some iteration of that. Is he really the best in the world? If so Locking standards are extremely poor.
Has excellent facial hair. No the best in the world but he'd be in the top 1. Also has a broken finger and will miss the tests against the frogs.
Well the standards there have dropped off a lot since SA have stopped being totally dominant there, I wouldn't be surprised if he is. At the very worst, he's top 3. The only thing that could really distort that is Whitelock playing for Cantebury and the All Blacks, where he's got a stronger team around him than some of the other candidates. Still right up there though.
No real standouts imo. I'd only object to Whitelock being named the best because I don't think he stands above the rest. There is a gaggle of 3-4 who you can't really separate.
Whitelocks game is very one sided. Normally your locks need a combination of Defensive enforcer, Possession protector, scrummaging machine or lineout securer He only really falls into the last category with how he asserts himself on games
Saying Sam Whitelock is the best lock in the world is a fair call. Even if he isn't, he'd be high on the list with a couple of other guys. Whitelock's brought a bit more of that "defensive enforcer" attitude to games this season. Him and Romano were out to smash the Blues a week or two ago.
I don't really know much about rugby but Etzebeth and Bekker were highly touted at one point - not up there?
Ritchie Gray and Paul O'Connell are very good. Both have been out injured a fair bit over the last year, so they tend to slip people's minds.
I always recommend Lockwood but Carbine makes some pretty good locks now if you want something a bit cheaper.
Gray's had a seriously shyte season, tbh. Was a lucky lad to make the Lions squad. Definitely picked on rep. Parling's a decent all-rounder and Launchbury will develop into something special. Had great hopes for Lawes, but he needs to add a little self control.
Well the latter is better then Whitelock at doing the same job. Haven't watched Etzebeth closely enough.
Etzebeth's spent most of this season injured IIRC. Only came back a couple of rounds ago, so entirely possible people have forgotten about him.
