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During the 1995 Rugby World Cup a certain colossus emerged, and changed rugby union forever.
Before 1995 a lot of big fellows played the game, especially in the forwards, but rarely in the backs.
From what I have seen on video, I can see why former Springbok centre Danie Gerber is rated as one of the best ever.
Gerber is listed in the Springbok archives at 187 centimetres and 95 kilograms. Compared to the backline players at the time that was a big unit. However he wouldn’t look out of sorts today when you consider that players like Jan Serfontein and Malachai Fekitoa stack up at pretty much the same height and weight.
But did Gerber use his size to smash into the defence like the way most centres do these days? Well sometimes yes but mostly no. Gerber was known for his speed, his skill and his deadly step. Size was a bonus for the Springbok legend of yore, but it wasn’t his definitive attribute.
Fast forward back to 1995.
Jonah Tali Lomu, a winger standing at 196 centimetres and weighing 120 kilograms, changed the game as we know it. He is widely regarded as rugby union’s first real superstar and was labelled “a freak” by England fullback Mike Catt.
“I’ve seen plenty like him, but they were forwards,” was Catt’s second comment.
And who could argue? Who wouldn’t be afraid of the towering colossus who, according to some sources, was able to pull 120 kilos worth of beef over 100 metres in 10.8 seconds?
In the popular Song of Ice and Fire series a character by the name of Bronn said something about Gregor Clegane, a freak of nature in their fictional world, that I found to be the best description of Lomu:
“You’d be a fool not to be afraid of him. He’s freakish big and freakish strong, and faster than you would think for a man of that size.”
Today many fans claim that if Lomu had played today then he would not have that much of an impact. That speaks volumes about how the game has changed since 1995.
A popular debate these days is whether the All Blacks’ new try-scoring machine Julian Savea is better than the bulldozing Lomu. A lot has been made of this comparison and chief among them is the fact that Savea has better skill and tactical awareness than Lomu had.
This tells me that even though you could draw comparisons between the two, you should not mistake them for the same type of player.
This is by no means an insult to Lomu, who is a legend of the game, but while he had size and was unnaturally fast for his size, he was not known for his skill nor his mental agility. He was a master of size and speed and to his credit, he incinerated his opponents with those traits.
Contrary to popular belief, Julian Savea is not actually all that big compared to most of the wingers he faces. Savea comes in at 193 centimetres and 108 kilograms, still a highly impressive unit but 3 centimetres and 12 kilograms shy of Lomu – that’s a lot of beef.
But Savea possesses something that no other winger does. He combines size with speed and an acute rugby brain. Yes Savea swots away defenders like bugs most of the time, but does he look for contact in every given situation? Absolutely not.
Savea has scored numerous tries by using smart tactics. He chips the ball, he grubbers it, he passes and offloads. He understands the concept of space and opportunity. He can catch high balls and can position himself very well defensively. He and Lomu are two very different types of players.
But what they have in common is that they are what I call ‘power players’.
Power players are what the name suggests: players with highly intimidating physiques that defy the laws of nature. And right now they are invading rugby.
These are but a few examples of power players that have joined the fray in the last 20 years:
Alex Cuthbert (198cm, 106kg), George North (193cm, 109kg), Matt Banahan (200cm, 115kg), Ma’a Nonu (182cm, 107kg), Alessana Tuilagi (185cm, 116kg), Manu Tuilagi (185cm, 112kg), Tevita Kuridrani (195cm, 105kg), Francois Steyn (191cm, 110kg), Sonny Bill Williams (194cm, 108kg), Sam Burgess (196cm, 115kg), Israel Folau (195cm, 103kg), Jamie Roberts (193cm, 110kg) and Jaque Fourie (190cm, 105kg).
No doubt a lot have been omitted from that list.
What is interesting to note is that South Africa, a country known for its emphasis on size, does not really possess power players. They would tell you that Jan Serfontein is a big man standing at 187 centimetres and 97 kilograms and yet even Malakai Fekitoa matches him. Other international 12s are much bigger,
Ma’a Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams outweigh Serfontein by 10 kilograms each. Jamie Roberts has an entire 12 kilograms on him. Jean de Villiers stands at 190 centimetres and a 100 kilos and judging by his lean stature you would be forgiven for thinking he weighs less.
In fact South Africa only possess three backline players in the entire country that can claim to be near the physical capabilities of players like Savea, North and Kuridrani.
Francois Steyn is a big man at 110 kilos, but his physique isn’t ideal. He does not possess that power that Savea does and neither is he that fast. Jean de Villiers sounds a strong man but was put to shame physically against the much stronger Manu Tuilagi in 2012 when they faced one another. Jan Serfontein was taught a lesson in strength by Roberts in the final game of last year.
Damian de Allende is a unique physical specimen. According to the Stormers he is 189 centimetres tall and only 100 kilograms heavy and yet he is without doubt a stronger man than Serfontein, de Villiers and Steyn.
His physical prowess showed last year. He destroyed Serfontein at Newlands when he was shifted to 12, proved a successful tackler against Savea on the wing when the Hurricanes visited Newlands in Round 2 and he even drove the 127 kilogram Coenie Oosthuizen back in Bloemfontein. Despite his slender appearance he packs a very big punch and is very athletic.
JP Pietersen is South Africa’s only power player on the wing. At 191 centimetres tall and 102 kilograms heavy, he has made a name for himself as a fearsome tackler in the game as Denton of Scotland would know when they met one another on Murrayfield.
But perhaps the only player in South Africa who can claim to be equal to Savea in terms of size and athleticism is junior Springbok centre Andre Esterhuizen.
Esterhuizen is a giant, standing at 194 centimetres and 106 kilograms, who stamped his authority in the tournament in New Zealand. He also appeared in the Currie Cup last year and after playing only 450 minutes in the comp he broke more tackles than Juan de Jongh, Paul Jordaan and Jaco Taute did in more than 550 minutes.
I hope to see him in Super Rugby this year if only to see how he goes against men like Savea and Kuridrani.
Springbok fans continually moan about Heyneke Meyer only going for size in the backline, yet the Springboks have one of the smallest backlines of all the tier one nations.
Contrary to popular belief, the All Blacks do tend to go for size in their backline, as do the Welsh. England is collecting their stock of power players too, with the likes of Luther Burrell, Billy Twelvetrees, Tuilagi and Burgess appearing in their centres.
The Wallabies look to be in a transitioning phase. They have Kuridrani, Folau and Joe Tomane running amok in the backline but also have smaller guys like Matt Toomua there too.
Ireland’s backline isn’t very big either. Tall yes but not big. In fact their height and weight average is very close to the Springboks’. Perhaps this is why both teams kick the ball so much? Perhaps not.
Fiji, Samoa and Tonga are known for their big Polynesian players and continually produce big athletes. The trend in the backline is becoming power players. Even France are using their 120 kilogram wrecking ball in the form of Mathieu Bastareaud.
What if smaller players are going to be cast away systematically?
Players like Juan de Jongh (175cm, 88kg), Tim Nanai-Williams (170cm, 75kg), Cheslin Kolbe (170cm, 70kg), Kyle Eastmond (175cm, 82kg), Seabelo Senatla (175cm, 77kg), Paul Jordaan (178cm, 87kg), Wesley Fofana (177cm, 86kg) and Leigh Halfpenny (175cm, 87kg)?
Do we really want these players to lose their right to the game just because they don’t have the giant gene that most players these days possess? Will there be a day when players of 180 centimetres are overlooked for the sake of the big boys at 185 centimetres plus?
As a rugby fan and player I certainly would not wish for this to happen. The beauty of rugby has always been that it is a contact sport that welcomes all physiques. Every height has its purpose and advantages. It will simply just not be good for the game if power players took over.
In the past it was easily resolved. Pick the big boys for forwards and the others as backs. But nowadays the guys standing from 160 centimetres to 180 centimetres are mostly directed to either scrum or fly-half.
Do we want this? Do we want the future Kolbe, Gio Aplon or Nanai-Williams to be playing solely 9 or 10? That is where the game is headed.
Wingers need to be big because the opponent’s wingers will be big and they have to secure the high ball. The centres need to secure front-foot ball so you have centres weighing as much as flankers.
Many point out to guys like Conrad Smith, Willie le Roux and Ben Smith to say that they are small players. Small in weight maybe, but all three stand at 186 centimetres in height. That isn’t small by any means.
The rugby world is embracing the power player, which was to be expected when professionalism dawned. But what if that means that good and skilful smaller players are going to abandon the game because the professional game has no place for them.
I don’t want it for rugby and I doubt you would either. But what shall we do as lovers of the game? What can we possibly do?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.