The Finishing Touches
RIEKO IOANE [Blues] POSITION: Wing/Centre HEIGHT: 1.94m WEIGHT: 104kg TRIES 2017: 10 METRES: 967 DEFENDERS BEATEN: 26 CLEAN BREAKS: 41
The World Breakthrough Player of the Year is likely to play a bit at centre this campaign. But that is unlikely to slow up his try scoring ability.
Ioane is lethal whatever position he plays. He has extraordinary pace and acceleration and at 104kg, he has raw power that enables him to brush off tackles or drive through them.
On top of that he has great instincts, immaculate micro skills and a desire to be involved. We see him as the most deadly finisher in Super Rugby largely because he can score from nothing – just step on the gas and suddenly be in the clear.
WAISAKE NAHOLO [Highlanders] POSITION: Wing TRIES 2017: 9 HEIGHT: 1.85m WEIGHT: 103kg METRES: 902 DEFENDERS BEATEN: 24 CLEAN BREAKS: 47
The clock needs to be wound back to 2015 and memories rekindled of how good Naholo can be if he avoids injury and is used wisely.
That year he was unstoppable. He scored 15 tries but what mattered was that he was the only player in the competition that could have scored many of them.
As he showed in the final test of last year, he can finish in tight spaces. He has immense power and timing and an uncanny ability to pull off the impossible. Naholo is a bag of tricks and he can score from the most unlikely places.
ISRAEL FOLAU [Waratahs] POSITION: Fullback HEIGHT: 1.95m WEIGHT: 105kg TRIES 2017: 9 METRES: 999 DEFENDERS BEATEN: 21 CLEAN BREAKS: 51
This guy remains a class act and anyone silly enough to underestimate him will be made to pay for it. He’s had extended time off – a period in which he also married.
The smart move would be to guess that he’ll be confident, content and hungry to play good football now that he’s back. He was close to his best in 2017 and reminded everyone that he covers the ground with such ease and purpose.
He is brilliant in the air, makes the most wonderful intrusions and the Waratahs, with Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale pulling the strings, should be able to make plenty of space for him.
COURTNALL SKOSAN [Lions] POSITION: Wing HEIGHT: 1.83m WEIGHT: 93kg TRIES 2017: 9 METRES: 1208 DEFENDERS BEATEN: 34 CLEAN BREAKS: 39
Courtnall Skosan is all about his pace. The man can shift and he’s deceptive. So frequently defenders give him a metre on the outside and think they will close him down, only to find he’s gone past them and can’t be caught.
The Lions have become a free-flowing, open side and much of their confidence in throwing the ball around is driven by the knowledge that Skosan can finish things off for them.
SETA TAMANIVALU [Crusaders] POSITION: Wing/Centre HEIGHT: 1.90m WEIGHT: 105kg TRIES 2017: 10 METRES: 725 DEFENDERS BEATEN: 19 CLEAN BREAKS: 36
Seta Tamanivalu went to the Crusaders to be their power runner in the centre. But by March, he was established as their answer to the departed Nemani Nadolo.
Wing now appears to be the best slot for Tamanivalu who is a big unit – a seriously powerful man with genuine pace. He’s maybe not as agile or dexterous as the likes of Ioane and Naholo, but when he’s on the end of the line, hitting the ball at pace, he takes a fair bit of stopping.
Watch him run over the top of a few defenders and we rate him, five metres out with a bit of space, as the toughest wing in the competition to tackle.