Emasculated Manu

[fortysix]

As a semi pro Sportsman, I am beginning to come to the radical conclusion that Manu
* Has taken life for granted
* Has not adhered to any professional expertise in relation to personal conditioning
* Has not in any way shape or form studied any defensive strategy employed by the All Blacks
* And that maybe he was at best a two season wonder who has been found out by the expert Coaches other Premiership Teams now employ

I expect a shellacking from some on here----------- but certainly I would prefer Matt Smith in his position after the farce on Friday
night, and two years ago I never thought I would say that.

I sincerely hope Manu proves me 100% wrong

IMHO I believe next year Freddie will have organised a deal to France.....

[strawclearer]

As a semi pro Sportsman, I am beginning to come to the radical conclusion that Manu
* Has taken life for granted
* Has not adhered to any professional expertise in relation to personal conditioning
* Has not in any way shape or form studied any defensive strategy employed by the All Blacks
* And that maybe he was at best a two season wonder who has been found out by the expert Coaches other Premiership Teams now employ

I expect a shellacking from some on here----------- but certainly I would prefer Matt Smith in his position after the farce on Friday
night, and two years ago I never thought I would say that.

I sincerely hope Manu proves me 100% wrong

IMHO I believe next year Freddie will have organised a deal to France.....

...swiftly followed by:

Plague 1 — water turned into blood; fish died. ...
Plague 2 — frogs. ...
Plagues 3 and 4 — biting insects and wild animals. ...
Plagues 5 and 6 — livestock disease and boils. ...
Plague 7 — fiery hail. ...
Plague 8 — locusts. ...
Plague 9 — darkness.

[ellis9]

On his day, Manu is irreplaceable. As a semi professional sportsman, I'd have thought you'd realise how difficult it is to come back at the same level you were at before a lengthy injury. Once Manu has had some more game time, he will be world class again. It may not be until nearer the end of the season or even next season but he will get there so long as he stays injury free.

[Roly]

It's easier to work a try when someone has rushed out of the defensive line and completely missed the tackle leaving a nice gap up the middle to expose.

There's difference line between a well timed rush and an obvious charge that the ball carrier can easily sidestep.
On Friday Manu was at the extreme end of the spectrum and that is made more obvious at inside centre.

Agreed. He verged on being a liability on Friday. He needs club time, and he certainly shouldn't be anywhere near England's Autumn games.

[JackFlashJonny]

John has it spot on here for me Manu is not a 12...it doesn't give him enough space to get up to speed and coupled with that I think he is not technically good enough or perhaps quick enough mentally to play there..Matt Toomua with Manu at 13 in a Kuridrani role is going to be truly incredible at club level..hopefully Matt can get well and come in and show us how classy he really is

[Roly]

John has it spot on here for me Manu is not a 12...it doesn't give him enough space to get up to speed and coupled with that I think he is not technically good enough or perhaps quick enough mentally to play there..Matt Toomua with Manu at 13 in a Kuridrani role is going to be truly incredible at club level..hopefully Matt can get well and come in and show us how classy he really is

Based on bitter experience, Matt will get half a season at best to prove how classy he is....

[Roly]

On his day, Manu is irreplaceable. As a semi professional sportsman, I'd have thought you'd realise how difficult it is to come back at the same level you were at before a lengthy injury. Once Manu has had some more game time, he will be world class again. It may not be until nearer the end of the season or even next season but he will get there so long as he stays injury free.

He has a medical condition which ensures he likely wont stay injury free.

I agree he needs game time at club level to get back up to speed. Personally, I believe, as one or two others have suggested, that he's peaked in terms of his ability now. He was an impact weapon when new on the scene, but now its too easy to defend against him (in terms of knowing what he's going to do next - Jamie Roberts-esque). England certainly don't need him as things stand.

[LondonRich]

- I've not quoted the posts to save space.

Hi Roly, what's medical condition? I wasn't aware of anything like that, I just thought that he has suffered a lot of muscular injuries in his legs.

I was going to relate that to what Fortysix said about his level of conditioning; part of that must surely be injury prevention (programmed by the S&C/Physio team), but you look at some sports people who defy odds of returning from injuries and prolonging careers much longer than they should (Tom Brady, Ryan Giggs, Jamie Peacock all spring to mind) an wonder if the extra attention they paid to their physical well being helped? I'm sure it did. Surely there is more to Manu's injuries than just pure bad luck?

I agree with many here than Manu is world class on his day, but as a professional sportsperson he's paid for it to be his day more often than not. I really hope that he can rediscover his form soon, as there's not many better sights than him running riot in a Tigers jersey.

[Roly]

- I've not quoted the posts to save space.

Hi Roly, what's medical condition? I wasn't aware of anything like that, I just thought that he has suffered a lot of muscular injuries in his legs.

I was going to relate that to what Fortysix said about his level of conditioning; part of that must surely be injury prevention (programmed by the S&C/Physio team), but you look at some sports people who defy odds of returning from injuries and prolonging careers much longer than they should (Tom Brady, Ryan Giggs, Jamie Peacock all spring to mind) an wonder if the extra attention they paid to their physical well being helped? I'm sure it did. Surely there is more to Manu's injuries than just pure bad luck?

I agree with many here than Manu is world class on his day, but as a professional sportsperson he's paid for it to be his day more often than not. I really hope that he can rediscover his form soon, as there's not many better sights than him running riot in a Tigers jersey.

His pelvis is partially separated in a debilitating condition known as Gilmore’s Groin.

[Bunchy]

Roly - that's not true - his recent long lay off was due to his pubic bone becoming inflamed. It has settled down now, but is very hard to diagnose....

[Roly]

Roly - that's not true - his recent long lay off was due to his pubic bone becoming inflamed. It has settled down now, but is very hard to diagnose....

Ooooo I don't know. There's a couple of posters on here who I'm sure would be capable of a diagnosis.

[Jimmy Skitz]

Manu's game Friday night was typical of someone having to play his way back to fitness, with regards to his carrying, I thought he got the ball from a standing start too often, ideally he needs to have a head of steam up when he received the ball and he will almost always break the gain line by several metres.

the problems defensively Friday was that Betham would also go charging out of the line so it seemed like there was a permanent hole in the line.

Until Toomua is here drop put Betham to 14 Veianu to 15 and have Smith or Roberts at 12 who would be far more disciplined there with Manu back at 13

[Old Hob]

And how many tackles did he successfully complete? According to The Times on Saturday 0/6. He needs to step up or start paying back some of the inflated wages he has been paid for playing video games for 2 years.

[brooksey845]

Manu was playing out of his favoured position returning after a long injury lay off. Lets give him a bit of a break and chance to return to form and get up to speed and then judge/ praise accordingly.

Im pretty sure if Manu went and signed for Saints you would all be pretty annoyed other than Telusa he is potentially the real game changer we have in the backs.

[Jeremy Anderson]

Very happy to give Manu time to return to full fitness before making judgements.