Positions

Coach qBaLLs # MB is for losers :

Kiwis XV :

Name me a player that plays any position other than prop that can go ahead and play prop in a game...you can't because the laws of the game don't allow it due to health and safety....also a prop doesn't play as a back or a back play in the forwards (unless they are needed to push in a scrum due to the team being down a player or 2 because of a send off or sinbinning).

A lock or flanker switching position is fine it happens yes, backs switching positions in the backline happens yes. But a wing playing half back is not as effective as a half back playing that position. The game is pretty unrealistic in the players playing any position you want to play them in.

A player could start out at the age of 18 or even 25 playing as a prop but with focussed training and commitment could without a doubt switch to any other positions, including backline. The same goes for a 110 - 120kg centre (which is not uncommon in modernday rugby) could switch to prop with the right tactical training. As stated before by a moderator, do not think of the positions showed on a player as set but only as a guideline


A player could start as a female and take enough testosterone and have some plastic surgery and become a man...it's a bit of a fairy tale isn't it?

Just because the odd player has changed positions from junior rugby into senior rugby doesn't mean every player in this game being able to play any position is realistic.

It's all a cop out so that the developers don't have to introduce any differences in players max ratings dependent on the position they play which is what makes sense but clearly too much of an effort to implement.
Do I need to start showing more real life examples? The ones I stated occurred over single weekend in the premiership and international rugby. And you argued our point with the need for training. If i have a guy on my national side and i train him to become a 175* scrum force and coordination, should i keep him at wing? A lot of the super sized centers and wings in today's top levels started as packed. It's about your skills not the number that is put on your back the first time you ever play rugby. It's about who you are and not who you were. And as a kiwi you should understand this as much as anyone as this movement in real life started with you all. Should Dane Coles not be allowed to play outside in open play or should he not be allowed to hook? lomu....but said....the list is very long especially at the top levels
Black Monks :

Do I need to start showing more real life examples? The ones I stated occurred over single weekend in the premiership and international rugby. And you argued our point with the need for training. If i have a guy on my national side and i train him to become a 175* scrum force and coordination, should i keep him at wing? A lot of the super sized centers and wings in today's top levels started as packed. It's about your skills not the number that is put on your back the first time you ever play rugby. It's about who you are and not who you were. And as a kiwi you should understand this as much as anyone as this movement in real life started with you all. Should Dane Coles not be allowed to play outside in open play or should he not be allowed to hook? lomu....but said....the list is very long especially at the top levels


If you showed legitimate examples then I would agree with you.

Having a winger play halfback due to injury is not a legitimate argument...if he was so good at halfback he would be selected there permanently. Name me 1 winger that has been trained to become a front row forward at a high level....scrummaging isn't an easy skill to learn. Being big doesn't mean you have the ability to scrummage.

Any outside back knows that if you play wing you should be able to play fullback too. In fact teams play a rotating back 3 depending on what side of the field the ball is on and what players are involved in the current play.

Dane Coles roaming out wide doesn't mean he can be a back! All forwards set up in the back line throughout the game as part of general play. It's part of the game but he would never be selected to start in the backline.

Lomu is a once in a life time player, using him to argue every player has the ability to play every position in rugby is ludacris.

Il give you an example of a player that made the transition from wing to No 8... Pierre Spies, he started on the wing, bulked up massively and become a No 8, but again that is very rare and he couldn't have turned into a prop.
Ashley Johnson who now plays for wasps is a 8th man but was converted into a hooker for the cheetahs a few years back!now back to nr 8
Sekope kepu-started playing 7s, moved to 8 man in 15s and now listed as a top 10 tighthead prop in the world according to intheloose.com. 2 other top tighthead props have played other positions as well. Nadola started as a forward. This is 15 minutes of browsing the web. I suspect I could find plenty more examples if i chose to, which i wont. It comes down to training. You might be able to argue that there needs to be 3 scrum categories, maybe adding in a front row dark arts category to make it tougher to train to prop, as I do believe it is toughest in real life to transition to, but these are clear concrete examples that it can and does happen. Im a prop in real life and I understand that we are the greatest specimens on the planet, but with hard work and determination others can join our ranks.

Also, why isn't it a big deal that we can make our players improve their speed and acceleration so easily? I can get a forward with low speed, sit him on my bench and by the end of the season he is the fastest guy in the championship? We all play the same game, we all get advantages the same. I want mb gone but I'm not going to stop playing this game I love because of it, i dont like how much money can impact this game but i get to play a free game because of those people and their cards, the list can go on but players out of position is quite possibly the most realistic aspect of the game out of those that have some disliking it.
But you can't play a specialist winger in the front row on this game either, you need to train the stats to fit accordingly here too

more examples you have Richie McCaw who's played both 8 and blindside flanker (on top of his more regular openside position), Wings and centres like Sonny Bill Williams who is 6'4 and 17 stone (easily big enough and athletic enough enough to play flanker). There's John Smit who played both hooker and prop internationally and Sebastian Chabal who's played at 8, flanker AND prop

The size in modern rugby means that back row and front row players aren't that far apart anymore. Yes without training and skills in that position they'll rarely be able to switch effectively, but in this game if my rucking tackling and scrumming (among other areas) aren't trained then I can't play that player at flanker anyway or he'll play terribly. For those Max players, yeah it's unrealistic. But unless they separate the forwards and the backs into different categories or implement things like height or athleticism, then there's no way of doing it

I have random numbers in positions but they're trained FOR that position. If an 18 year old was a centre, but had the physicality to play flanker, then I'm sure with enough training he'd be able to play there. It's no different here, with the exception of maxed players but that's the fantasy game aspect you have to deal with as it is not real life it is a game. Would I like a separation of forwards and backs? Yes... but until that happens you just have to take it with a pinch of salt and take the numbers as though they were given as a teenager. They're suited to that role originally but with training they can play wherever, either that or go mad as they are not gonna implement a segregation of players based on position
guest_1446246847139 :

I understand some of your comments but if any of you have played or watched any decent rugby you would know no one can play front row without training, otherwise there would never be uncontested scrums which make them a waste of time!
I chalenge you to quote me more than 2 occasions in super 15, top 14 or english premiership when a flanker played front row and the scrums were still contested! You make the game a joke!!

Uhm okay.....
Back to our caves gents. We got a rugby expert online.
Too bad we were able to show more than 2 examples huh, lol