Bill Johnston
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- shamalicious
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Re: Bill Johnston
Being small certainly held Shane Williams back (!)
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Re: Bill Johnston
kingofthehill wrote:Lowry had been told repeatedly through the ulster underage set up that he is too small. He was cut from the elite players programme at u16 level by a certain ulster coach for ‘being too small’.rumncoke wrote:Snipe the unfortunate truth is at 10 Lowry is not just a target — his size and talent make him — “ THE TARGET “.
You can’t play professional sport as —“ THE TARGET”. It alters the way a team performs especially in rugby players start to play protection ( defensively minded) .
Rumn was that certain Ulster coach!
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- big mervyn
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Re: Bill Johnston
Older members may remember Grant Batty, all black wing from the 70s. 2 inches shorter than Lowry and Williams at 5'5". Feisty wee bugger. Reminded me of Yosemite Sam
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Re: Bill Johnston
Yep - he played in the first Ulster match I ever saw - Ulster v All Blacks at Ravers circa 1972 -ish.big mervyn wrote:Older members may remember Grant Batty, all black wing from the 70s. 2 inches shorter than Lowry and Williams at 5'5". Feisty wee bugger. Reminded me of Yosemite Sam
Have the match programme somewhere around the house.
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Re: Bill Johnston
19 - 6. Was a good game. He was about 5'5" wide and his moustache was a real soup strainer corker. I remember him running at full tilt into his own prop and sending him flying in one international game on the tour. Kent Lambert possibly. Batty was a spiky forker.Cap'n Grumpy wrote:Yep - he played in the first Ulster match I ever saw - Ulster v All Blacks at Ravers circa 1972 -ish.big mervyn wrote:Older members may remember Grant Batty, all black wing from the 70s. 2 inches shorter than Lowry and Williams at 5'5". Feisty wee bugger. Reminded me of Yosemite Sam
Have the match programme somewhere around the house.
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Re: Bill Johnston
While the wee man may be small - its not always the size of the dog in the fight.
iHumph was notorious and virtually impossible to hide on the pitch - he wouldn't even try and make side on tackles never mind the head on stuff. One instance stands out to me in the Arms Park when he literally waved the guy through - waving for a forward pass that never was instead of tackling the guy a couple of feet away.
Besides, if someone wants to base their attacking plan on running at the 10 channel all day - that makes the defensive job a lot easier for the forwards.
iHumph was notorious and virtually impossible to hide on the pitch - he wouldn't even try and make side on tackles never mind the head on stuff. One instance stands out to me in the Arms Park when he literally waved the guy through - waving for a forward pass that never was instead of tackling the guy a couple of feet away.
Besides, if someone wants to base their attacking plan on running at the 10 channel all day - that makes the defensive job a lot easier for the forwards.
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Re: Bill Johnston
Did Joey Miles not bundle him into touch and send the crowd crazy?Cap'n Grumpy wrote:Yep - he played in the first Ulster match I ever saw - Ulster v All Blacks at Ravers circa 1972 -ish.big mervyn wrote:Older members may remember Grant Batty, all black wing from the 70s. 2 inches shorter than Lowry and Williams at 5'5". Feisty wee bugger. Reminded me of Yosemite Sam
Have the match programme somewhere around the house.
Re: Bill Johnston
I have stated he is too small to play professionally at 10 ,
Williams and Batty were both wings .Neither of them would have been identified as The Target for the day .
Carberry scored against Fiji the back row then targeted him and he went off injured .
I don’t see him as a starting 10 .
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Williams and Batty were both wings .Neither of them would have been identified as The Target for the day .
Carberry scored against Fiji the back row then targeted him and he went off injured .
I don’t see him as a starting 10 .
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Re: Bill Johnston
You’re entitled to your opinion but I’m very confident you will be proven wrong.rumncoke wrote:I have stated he is too small to play professionally at 10 ,
Williams and Batty were both wings .Neither of them would have been identified as The Target for the day .
Carberry scored against Fiji the back row then targeted him and he went off injured .
I don’t see him as a starting 10 .
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Re: Bill Johnston
I have no doubt that Lowry has the talent to make it as a pro. His size is however a factor and he will never be a top level 15 for as long as competing in the air is required. He is a 10 or nothing else.
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- Cap'n Grumpy
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Re: Bill Johnston
More likely sometwo's son ...Tender wrote:He’s someone’s son...
Anyway, is this not meant to be about Bill Johnston, not Michael Lowry?
Bill is probably sometwo's son as well.
I'm not arguing -
I'm just explaining why I'm right
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Re: Bill Johnston
JV
I put three questions to you
The first is "what role does an out half perform on a rugby pitch"
The second is "what talents does Micheal Lowry possess "
Thirdly " How and will Micheal Lowry be able to exercise those talents at out half, to ensure that the back line out side him maximises it potential, when he is the target of three professional back row forwards.
Do you see lowry facing the Saracens forwards ? ( and surviving 90 minutes )
The third question is the killer when you add the words -- to ensure that the backline out side him maximises it potential
Lowry is exciting to watch but the sum of his contribution ?
I put three questions to you
The first is "what role does an out half perform on a rugby pitch"
The second is "what talents does Micheal Lowry possess "
Thirdly " How and will Micheal Lowry be able to exercise those talents at out half, to ensure that the back line out side him maximises it potential, when he is the target of three professional back row forwards.
Do you see lowry facing the Saracens forwards ? ( and surviving 90 minutes )
The third question is the killer when you add the words -- to ensure that the backline out side him maximises it potential
Lowry is exciting to watch but the sum of his contribution ?
Within this carapace of skepticism there lives an optimist
- Snipe Watson
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Re: Bill Johnston
The talk about Lowry being too small is frankly bullshit.
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog" would be the appropriate axiom.
He's tough and brave which is more important than any physical characteristic.
He also poses a serious problem for opposition defenders. Quick and small is hard to tackle in a confined space without conceding a penalty or yellow card. It creates a split second of doubt for a flanker wanting to target him with a big hit.
If he's good enough, he's big enough.
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog" would be the appropriate axiom.
He's tough and brave which is more important than any physical characteristic.
He also poses a serious problem for opposition defenders. Quick and small is hard to tackle in a confined space without conceding a penalty or yellow card. It creates a split second of doubt for a flanker wanting to target him with a big hit.
If he's good enough, he's big enough.
Re: Bill Johnston
If Michael Lowry was 3 or 4 inches taller would he not be targeted as a 10?
How tall is Janny Sexton?
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How tall is Janny Sexton?
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