Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, John Eales reflects on the latest Super Rugby action.
"Offloads are a hot commodity in rugby and their poster boy is Crusader Sonny Bill Williams, who as of last week had made almost twice as many as anyone else in the competition. He had 24 and his nearest rival, teammate Dan Carter, 13, which in itself is a pointer to how the Crusaders play their game.
"Offloads are invaluable as they maintain momentum while raising ghosts in the minds of defensive patterns. Sometimes the most potent threat is a perceived threat: should a defensive line commit to the ball carrier or hold back for the recipient?
"Hence Williams's value arises as much through what he doesn't do as what he actually does. Not only can he offload but he can equally cause so much damage when running himself. The resulting uncertainty creates options for him and for those around him.
"Two of the Waratahs' tries came directly from offloads, one from Wycliff Palu, the other from Burgess."
RSS feed
