loinertillidie wrote:
An interesting statement. I presume you have seen Sam train, I presume you have seen him around the squad, or around the hotel. I presume you know what he adds to the brew? I certainly don't, but, I do know that some players, as with people in every walk of life, thrive on responsibility. Sam comes across as a bright lad, he knows his game, and he knows that he wants.
A captain at full back, someone who is watching the whole game and can make decisions based on that. I don't think that's beyond the realms of common sense.
His attitude has improved a lot, for me he has grown up immensely.
As for leadership qualities, can you define them for us?
It's my supposition, just as your supposition is that Tomkins would make a good captain. Let's be honest, we've neither of us got anything first-hand to base our judgement on. But I've *never* heard anyone closer to the game, at Wigan or England, so much as suggest Tomkins for the captaincy.
Leadership qualities are varied. I think too much is made of captaincy in international sport (Cricket excepted, where the captain is effectively a manager making a vast amount of unique in-game decisions). Pretty much by definition an international football or rugby team will contain a number of outstanding leaders, who can variously motivate, lead by example or implement a coach's gameplan. The one with the armband is the figurehead, but that doesn't mean they're the only leader.
You could argue that the two things that matter most in an international RL captain are the ability to deal with the media to promote the game, and the ability to communicate with the referee to the best interests of your team. Sinfield fits that bill better than anyone, but given that he might not be in the team come the World Cup the other players with those specifications are O'Loughlin and maybe Graham.
