Slammin Sam almost ready....

First topic message reminder :

Big Sam may get a run out for Bath this weekend. What fantastic news. If there was ever a player so eagerly awaited I don't know. Bath players already very impressed with him during training. An on song Sam between Ford and Manu for England would be mouth watering. Even big sonny boy Williams would be apprehensive about facing that line up. Can Sam live up to the hype and expectations? Who knows but at this point the hope he has a successful union career is enormous.

He's the type of player that leads by example. He has to be in the thick of the action. Not sure how he's going to cope waiting on slow distribution in the backline. He'll have to get involved off the fringes of the ruck to be at his damaging best.

Well it will be interesting to watch. The success rate of players crossing over is not very high these days. And I think as the athletes playing each sport become more specialised at earlier ages, it will become harder for players from each sport to move to the other. Hoping for the best though.

Looks like he will be on the bench tomorrow night against Montpellier, Ferns is also fit again and starts on the OPEN SIDE.

That is one wapping great backrow, Sisi, Ferns and Houston.

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:Looks like he will be on the bench tomorrow night against Montpellier, Ferns is also fit again and starts on the OPEN SIDE.

That is one wapping great backrow, Sisi, Ferns and Houston.

I saw that too. Some herd of baby rhinos

In just about 15 minutes on the pitch last week I saw enough to make a prediction that Sam will be huge success in union. The fight and fire in his eyes did it for me. He is uber competitive and failure is not in his vocabulary. He will need a few games of course but his commitment is not in question believe me.

lostinwales wrote:

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:Looks like he will be on the bench tomorrow night against Montpellier, Ferns is also fit again and starts on the OPEN SIDE.

That is one wapping great backrow, Sisi, Ferns and Houston.

I saw that too. Some herd of baby rhinos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na%27ama_Leleimalefaga


Small compared to this bloke they will be lining up against...

Bloody hell, 5'10 and 140kg?!

He must be shaped like a smart car

BamBam wrote:Bloody hell, 5'10 and 140kg?!

He must be shaped like a smart car

No they are quite nippy and light, more like a Transit van.

What the heck do they feed them in Samoa?!

englandglory4ever wrote:In just about 15 minutes on the pitch last week I saw enough to make a prediction that Sam will be huge success in union. The fight and fire in his eyes did it for me. He is uber competitive and failure is not in his vocabulary. He will need a few games of course but his commitment is not in question believe me.

I think that's slightly overstating the case. But I was impressed that he got stuck into the breakdown several times and didn't concede penalties or make any obvious errors. That's a good sign.

Sam was epic in his time here, and I wish him every success from 2016 onwards.  I'd like him to prove that a league forward could become a union forward.

And ccongratulations on the test win last weekend as well, ya bunch a ...

Enjoyable game and tour all up.

boomeranga wrote:Sam was epic in his time here, and I wish him every success from 2016 onwards.  I'd like him to prove that a league forward could become a union forward.

And ccongratulations on the test win last weekend as well, ya bunch a ...

Enjoyable game and tour all up.

What a shame that his two runouts have been in appalling weather and on bogs. The beach in oz must be flooding back in his mind. What have I done?

englandglory4ever wrote:What a shame that his two runouts have been in appalling weather and on bogs. The beach in oz must be flooding back in his mind. What have I done?

We've been having these late afternoon showers, and for five minutes or more each afternoon it's been a little unpleasant. Sam'll know the roses arent always greener.

Didn't Eastmond play an entire game without touching the ball once last winter? I think Sam might prefer it with the forwards

I fear he may have moved at the wrong time, with the IRBs continuing sanitation of tackling he could end up being a penalty machine.

rodders wrote:I fear he may have moved at the wrong time, with the IRBs continuing sanitation of tackling he could end up being a penalty machine.

BT commentators kept highlighting that alright in the recent game v Montpellier. Im sure he will get used to playing within the law soon enough.

Folau adjusted quite quickly for a guy who hadnt a clue of union rules when he first made the switch.

GunsGerms wrote:

rodders wrote:I fear he may have moved at the wrong time, with the IRBs continuing sanitation of tackling he could end up being a penalty machine.

BT commentators kept highlighting that alright in the recent game v Montpellier. Im sure he will get used to playing within the law soon enough.

Folau adjusted quite quickly for a guy who hadnt a clue of union rules when he first made the switch.

Yeah but Falou wasn't famous for turning the opposition into crash test dummies.

We all thought the about Sonny Bill as well though.  These guys are good enough to understand I think, although it's no doubt the overt nature of a league hit man is part of their games and part of the attraction.  They are allowed to be a little more WWF swinging arm in the NRL.

SBW adapted really well but had year under the radar at Toulon, whereas Sam is being thrown in the deep end.

Refs are a lot stricter now on tackles that they were a few seasons ago too. Pretty much anything high or anything which involves a lift is borderline yellow...or worse.