IN FOCUS OUTHALVES AT FULLBACK: JOHN O'SULLIVANgets the views of a former prodigy on the merits of switching from outhalf to fullback
THE NATURAL inclination for a coach to include the best footballers in a team occasionally throws up a delicate conundrum. Are some positions interchangeable without any diminution in impact? It’s not an exact science, often relying on intuition.
The genesis for the experiment is often the expediency of injury but there are times when a desire to accommodate a skilful player warrants a risk. The sanitised training environment is a flawed indicator; there is no substitute for the competitive forum.
In recent times Ian Madigan (Leinster) and Ian Keatley (Munster), ostensibly outhalves, have been asked to embrace the fullback berth for their respective provinces, though the two scenarios are appreciably different in origin.
Injuries to Rob Kearney, Luke Fitzgerald and Dave Kearney, a decision not to promote Fionn Carr and play Isa Nacewa on the wing was the preamble to Leinster coach Joe Schmidt handing Madigan the number 15 jersey. It was a bold decision, largely vindicated in the manner in which the player has adapted. It is, though, a short-term solution.
Rob Penney chose to select Keatley at fullback in preference to Denis Hurley for last Saturday’s game against Racing Metro 92 in the Stade de France. Keatley had started the season well at outhalf in the absence of Ronan O’Gara but once Munster and Ireland’s record points’ scorer returned, the latter was pencilled in to start the games against Leinster and Racing Metro.
Keatley came on as a replacement in the Aviva Stadium but for the game in Paris began at fullback before moving into the role of pivot – he’ll play outhalf at the weekend – when O’Gara pulled up lame with a hamstring injury.
The carrot of a starting role supersedes any anxiety about switching positions. It’s a calculated gamble in both the mind of the coach and player. There are risks, though, and one person who can offer a candid appreciation of the difficulty of moving from outhalf to fullback is Jeremy Staunton.
The 32-year-old retired from professional rugby at the end of last season, a career that began with Garryowen and Munster and took in Harlequins, Wasps, London Irish, Wasps again, Leicester Tigers, Ireland Youths, Under 21s, A and senior teams.
Staunton was a teenage prodigy, playing for the Ireland Under-21 team as an 18-year-old in 1999 and then a month later selected for the Irish A side. He toured Australia that summer, sitting on the bench during the second Test for Warren Gatland’s Ireland, roughly five weeks after his 19th birthday.
The other two outhalves in that party were Eric Elwood and David Humphreys. Staunton possessed flair, vision, strength, was a fine place-kicker and a big punter of the ball; at six foot and 14 and a half stone he was impressively physical in defence.
However, he had a rival closer to home. Ronan O’Gara, three years Staunton’s senior, got the drop on the Munster number 10 jersey and in 2000 the green shirt. Munster coach at the time Declan Kidney had two outstanding footballers but room for one initially.
Staunton spent a great deal of time on the bench before eventually being tried at fullback. The arrival of All Black colossus Christian Cullen in 2003 persuaded him to leave for Harlequins and a career in England. He won five Irish caps, starting with a try-scoring debut against Samoa in 2001, three more as a replacement outhalf and a final outing, as the starting 10 against Argentina in 2007.
He was so naturally gifted, worked hard and was dedicated but fate proved to be a cruel mistress. Fullback was never the right vehicle – it’s like asking legendary guitarist Jimmy Page to take up drums – but inside centre might have been. That option would come too late. It’s a matter of conjecture about where his career might have gone had he been left to develop as an outhalf. It’s hard to escape the feeling that the system in Ireland failed him.
Staunton is back in Ireland and sitting exams to become a secondary school teacher. “I suppose if you look back to the 1970s and 80s there would have been a view that outhalf and fullback were interchangeable. I don’t think it works. I believe it’s possible to switch from outhalf to centre but the demands at fullback are way removed from outhalf.
“The modern fullback has to be excellent in the air, very quick and possess a big boot. Being quick enough to play outhalf and make line-breaks is not the same as defending the last man, usually the winger, with lots of space to close down. You can be very physical, which I think Madigan and Keatley are at outhalf, but if you go for a big hit at fullback and miss, your man’s under the posts.
“You can be very isolated in terms of the ebb and flow of the game. You don’t dictate it like you do at outhalf. The reason that you’re chosen in the first place is for your ability as an outhalf. The skill set at fullback is different and I’d equate it to being a goalkeeper in football.
“You might have very little to do for the majority of a match but because you’re isolated as the last man, one error and you can be crucified.”
In trying to come up with an analogy to explain the difference, Staunton points out: “You wouldn’t ask Dan Carter to play fullback, yet he’s played inside centre. There’s a greater empathy between those positions. Jonny Wilkinson is another example and conversely you wouldn’t suggest that Israel Dagg or Jason Robinson play outhalf.
“The higher the level you play, the faster the game and the more difficult it becomes to switch between the two. If you are used to running a game the last thing you want is to be limited to five or six touches, wholly reliant on virtually the entire team to get a chance in an attacking capacity. It’s like picking someone to play and then not giving him the ball.
“I enjoyed my year and a half at fullback with Munster but only after I had time to adapt. It takes a while no matter how good a player but it never compensates for being in the centre of the action.” Keatley and Madigan would understand.
