Report Card: Second Row

The Gold Standard.

Paul Oโ€™Connell: Paulie had a welcome return to fitness and form. He made it his job to go looking for James Horwill in the Australian match and nailed him a few times. As noted here before, second rows have a long shelf life and itโ€™s not unreasonable to expect Paulie to have another World Cup in him. Benefitted from losing a bit of bulk and became more mobile. Still not a great ball carrier although he puts his hand up. Continue reading

The Team That Never Travelled: Part Two, The Second Row

Jerome Thion [France]: Thion is in the prime of his life as a second row: 33 years old, 115kgs, 45 starts for France and two World Cups. The Biarritz man has locked the French scrum with Lionel Nallet in a lot of big games but has been surplus to requirements since the defeat to Italy. Continue reading