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Oh, I agree. It may well be a matter of perception of size. More fool Eddie then, as for me, Farrell is the worse defender of the two. He will miss tackles on Saturday and I hope they don't cost points.
I wasn't questioning you questioning either (of that makes sense).
c00ps-
haha alright. Looking forward to this weekend games anyway!
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I think the choice of Farrell over Ford is about proven mental toughness and who plays better when they don't have dominance up front... that said, Ford played great all season behind a Leicester pack that rarely achieved parity so I'm not so sure about that, but at international level he has rarely had a great game against a top team...
paulbiche
owl
I wasn't questioning Ford's intentions in defence, I was never thinking he was scared or anything when I saw him play, far from it, but more in his physique that might lead (rightly or not) Jones to think he needs "topher" players.
It's one thing that has been bothering me for quite some time, many players are disregarded because they seem to be lacking physical aptitude or anything, but Rugby value shouldn't be dictated by who's the biggest or anything like that, you can always adapt your system to protect a player. I think Australia did something sismilar to protect Giteau last world cup with switching players in defense with Hooper at 10 and Ashley-Cooper who is bigger closer to him, and placing Giteau or Foley (can't remember) on the inside wing.
If you take the example of Kolbe, he is definitely ridiculous compared to someone like Etzebeth, Whitelock, or even Tuilagi, but good luck catching him and I am certain that any player attacking against him will try going straight through him, which is the most incredible way of letting someone defend easily (maybe it will be difficult in terms of impact etc., but defending a player going straight through you is easy compared to one that is trying to go past you avoiding contact)