Neglecting the positional Requirements of players

When it comes to International selection (and to be fair some club selections) Are we too focused or in danger of picking up players because they do the flashy things well, and neglect what their actual positional requirements are?

Ie Forwards being touted because they break the lines like a rampaging bull, or hands like a centre, or can do the hundred quicker than a winger.....

But whilst they can do that...we miss the fact that they cant actually scrummage, or throw in a lineout or run a lineout properly, or know how to work a rolling maul or tackle properly etc?

Yes.

If a player is quick and makes breaks they're the perfect scrum half it seems. Any player who's big and quick seems to be lauded as great regardless of where they play. In fact it seems that size and speed are the two most important facets of anyone's game. Skills are a distant second (see Haskell at 8)

I would hope coaches and selectors are less guilty of this than us spectators.

But yes too many players are heavily touted because they do the flash stuff - at times without it being underpinned by the basics.

What makes Gethin Jenkins world class is not that he can carry the ball well, but that he can do this while being a top notch scrummager. Combining the two in a prop is rare and if unable to do that then you have to make sure the selected prop can scrummage. Take Ireland - a much better team with Mike ross who can scrummage but rarely carries the ball, than with tony Buckley who is the opposite.

Props must be able to scrum.
Hookers, scrum and throw.
Second Rows shove, jump and catch.
Scrum halves clear the ball quickly and accurately.
Full Backs catch high balls.

Without these players are a fundamental liability to their team.

There is more flexibility for other positions - so long as the team has a balanced skill set.

Actually there's often a stange twist, now I think about it. On one hand there's the "he's big and quick, he's awesome" where skills are ignored. Then there's the "he's not a stereotypical BLANK, he shouldn't be selected" overestimating the importance of specific skills in specific positions when its about the team balance.