Debate: The Backrow

How do you like your backrow players? With the recent changes to players being affected by their body mass index (BMI) in the match engine (ME) the size of backrow players is up for debate. Up until now the general consensus has been bigger is better which is still true for a lot of managers, there’s just something so appealing about a 210cm 130kg beast marauding his way around the field!

BMI isn't the only change to affect your backrow players either there have also been changes to the way discipline affect your players in the ME. As far as I recall the changes were to lessen the disadvantages of rebellious/reckless players which could make a less disciplined backrow more viable. This has yet to be tested and confirmed or denied though but would certainly make for a very interesting backrow perhaps more turnovers, almost certainly at the cost of more penalties conceded.

Getting back to BMI and the changes a shorter fatter player will tire faster (stamina) run slower (speed) have a harder time jumping/being lifted (jumping) he certainly wont be running circles around any of his thinner opponents (agility). So your big and beautiful backrow have lost some of there advantage although still have an edge when it comes to smashing the ball up (strength) and maintaining a benefit in the scrum.

This means it could be argued a smaller backrow player might be seen as more “mobile” and may well get to the breakdown first but will be less of a presence when actually competing at the breakdown due to a negative affect to strength. There have been no exact amounts of benefit/penalty announced with regards to BMI it's generally believed that the effects are quite small. Never the less two players that each have 10 speed may not actually have the same speed rating, as the player with a lower BMI is faster and the bigger the BMI difference the bigger the speed difference.

bit of both really a big and beautifull 6/8 and a small and sexy 7

the thirdy player can be one of the two

Yea after I posted I thought I should have had a mixed option but cant edit it now so never mind!

Also if I did that I think it would have been a landslide victory so this way is more interesting at least though I think I know which option is going to win anyway hehe...

A really tall fat perrson. Gets the weight without taking the stamina hit.

Any decent thoughts yet on when a player is considered fat?

I'm gonna have to stick to my guns on this one. I'm training a devastatingly fast backrow, so I want them small and very, very technically proficient

Just fast Zec, or fast and agile.

Quins got a good questions, when is some one considered fat? Personall i tend to follow this rule

Props Weight 120 KG+ Height 185-190 max
Hooker 120KG+ height 175-185
Second Row Weight 115KG+ Height 190 +
Back row Weight 100kg+ Height any

Im also trying to follow zecs rule. Strong props/locks but fast technical flankers.

Id like to train a 100kg maybe 5 kilos either way for a 7 and see how that goes, won't be for awhile yet tho

Also need to train an 8 soon probably before the 7... think everyone would agree that an 8 should be as heavy as possible for the extra scrum weight

With regards to what's fat.... I would say 185cm 100kg must be somewhere around the average in terms of rugby, so anything either way of that should start to see benefits/negatives obviously that is just my own opinion.

Agreed Harmsy, I wanna train a no 7 who's like 99kg.

Haha, try my 93kg He's in my academy at the moment, getting free training in the skills he needs without wasting senior individual sessions

I voted sexy and small, coz I figured most would say big and busty.

Tis a bit of both innit. Backow's gotta be the hardest positions on the pitch innit. You want a huge strong bloke, who's fast, nimble, tackles hard, has the silkiest of hands in fact about the only stat that you don't want 20 in is kicking, but if he could kick well that'd give him an edge.

People always rave about the 9s 10s and 15s, but it's the 6,7,8 that are the truly Godlike players on the pitch.

what?

oh well yes I did play 6, but I didn't mean to blow my own trumpet

Mazzeha wrote:
Props Weight 120 KG+ Height 185-190 max
Hooker 120KG+ height 175-185
Second Row Weight 115KG+ Height 190 +
Back row Weight 100kg+ Height any

See my 'rules' so far have been

All forwards more than 100kg

Front row shorter than 180cm
2nd rows taller than 200cm
Back row, height any.

Now as the shorties are front row and the tallies are second row this means that the backrow tend to be between 180 and 200cm tall.

So far this seems to have worked well for good scrums, my front row get under their opposition a lot, and in the lineouts the 207cm crew do well. I was somewhat concerned by wing's comment that he thought Wales did so well against the u20s coz they had tall props, but not worried enough, yet, to change my policy. In any case this is meant to be a debate about backrow, not front

dont worry about tall front rowers mate