I've been thinking hard about this, and what I would personally like to see is that max stats for each skill vary by position - so for example if your normal max points level is 100, a forward could go to 110 on scrum-related stats, but only 95 on speed and 80 on kicking, say, whereas a fly half could be 105 on kicking and speed, but 70 on scrummaging, say. That way people can train players to do a reasonable job out of position, but never reach the heights. However, I would only do that from age 21 - before that, it should be possible to train a player as you wish, and change their position. Then you have realism and flexibility. However, it's probably quite a big change, especially the age thing, and it's hard to buy those young players anyway.
For the record, I do try to play people in position whenever I can. I currently have a front row made up entirely of hookers, and a winger playing at centre - I've seen both of these happen in real life. Everyone else is playing in position. I have just released the flanker I've had at scrum half for the last 5 seasons. For some time, I did have a team that was all 8s and 15s except for the 10, but that's actually not all that impossible - just unlikely.
And ok, it's Under 14 level, but on Saturday I watched a touring team play at our festival with forwards and backs swapped. They also borrowed my son, who normally plays prop or 8, and put him on the wing. They absolutely tonked the opposition, who were a very good side. I've played my son in both half back positions before now - what he lacks in speed, he makes up in vision. As a coach in a pilot area, I've been heavily involved in the work the RFU has done to change the way the mini and junior game is played in England, and that's given me a lot of insight into not pigeonholing players based on what we think they look like, and we've trained our entire team in playing front row. So I actually have probably a better idea than most as to how practical it is to train people up for different positions, and it's somewhat easier than most think - you just need someone willing to learn.
For the record, I do try to play people in position whenever I can. I currently have a front row made up entirely of hookers, and a winger playing at centre - I've seen both of these happen in real life. Everyone else is playing in position. I have just released the flanker I've had at scrum half for the last 5 seasons. For some time, I did have a team that was all 8s and 15s except for the 10, but that's actually not all that impossible - just unlikely.
And ok, it's Under 14 level, but on Saturday I watched a touring team play at our festival with forwards and backs swapped. They also borrowed my son, who normally plays prop or 8, and put him on the wing. They absolutely tonked the opposition, who were a very good side. I've played my son in both half back positions before now - what he lacks in speed, he makes up in vision. As a coach in a pilot area, I've been heavily involved in the work the RFU has done to change the way the mini and junior game is played in England, and that's given me a lot of insight into not pigeonholing players based on what we think they look like, and we've trained our entire team in playing front row. So I actually have probably a better idea than most as to how practical it is to train people up for different positions, and it's somewhat easier than most think - you just need someone willing to learn.