Ospreys coach Steve Tandy believes his flanker Justin Tipuric will be a major asset for the British and Irish Lions on their tour to Australia in 2013.
Tandy rates Tipuric highly but admits that he has a huge task to be picked ahead of Wales captain and fellow flank Sam Warburton for the Lions.
"Without a doubt," he told Walesonline when asked if Tipuric was a dark horse for the Lions.
"He has a real challenge on his hands with Sam Warburton, which is great for Wales to have two opensides of that calibre.
"But I just think Tips has got a bit of X-Factor to him, especially with the ball in his hands. He can make things happen.
"He could play in the backs for you.
"And he does get crucial turnovers when you need them. So he'd be an asset to any team, whether the Ospreys or the Lions."
Tandy praised Tipuric for his performance during his first PRO12 league outing for the Ospreys in their loss to Ulster at the Liberty Stadium last week.
"It was great to have him back," he said.
"He really stepped up to the plate, especially defensively. So you have the defensive element, where he turns a lot of ball over, and he could also play at 12 or 13 and not look out of place.
"He's always a positive attribute for us."
Comments
kiwilad says...
I personally dont care who you pick, but please do not loose.
The crowing drifting across the Tasman would be unbearable
Posted 23:39 22nd September 2012
makemehappy says...
@heart_of_oak - you've substituted tall for big. There's a stone's difference., which is the main point.
Posted 13:22 18th September 2012
heart_of_oak says...
makemehappy - when you said he wasn't big enough I thought I'd see how big (oo er matron) Sam Warburton is. After all, I'm guessing alot of people would say Warburton is favourite to captain the Lions. According to Wikipedia, Warburton is 6 foot 2, exactly the same height as Tipuric. Ferris is 6 foot 4, Tom Wood and Tom Croft are both 6'5''.
Neil Back was 5 foot 10 and I reckon I'd have taken Back rather than most of the above. Steffon Armitage isn't the biggest of blokes but he's doing well in France and alot of people posting here reckon he's the best player in France at the moment.
So maybe you shouldn't rule Tipuric out on the basis of his size.
Posted 07:27 18th September 2012
heart_of_oak says...
makemehappy - totally agree. Sexton looks to be the best fly half at the moment. I personally think Care is the best scrum half available to B & I lions but there might be a case to be made for playing a scrum half fly half combination that work well together regularly. Care and Sexton could be good individually but poor as a combination. So for scrum half, I'd also be tempted to look at the Irish scrum half whoever that is nearer the time. I know alot of people will say that if you're good you should be able to work well with anyone else. But I just feel scrum half fly half is a little bit different. 2 locks can pack down together and be from totally different clubs and countries and it'd be fine. But the SH FH combination need to know each other's game pretty well. An alternative, if the coach agrees with that, is Youngs Flood, but, though it pains me to say it, I don't think Flood is as good as Sexton.
Posted 17:43 13th September 2012
Norm says...
Typical of what Jonesy, your narrow blinkered view of rugby?
Posted 09:28 13th September 2012
jonesy2 says...
ive heard a bit of talk about this guy but never heard of him actually doing anything. typical
Posted 05:40 13th September 2012
makemehappy says...
@heart_of_oak - not many problems at scrum half, but I agree about outside half. Priestland is up and down, Scotland don't offer anything, Sexton is obviously in poll position and England don't know who to chose!
Posted 19:25 12th September 2012
heart_of_oak says...
what a surprise. I reckon Mallinder would say Tom Wood should go and Cockerill will say Tom Croft has to go. There are some good Scots and Irish lads as well. Reckon we have a lot of good choices at flanker. I'm alot more worried about fly half and scrum half. We have players in those positions who can be good on their day but aren't always consistent. Reckon Sexton is the best bet at fly half. Not sure about scrum half.
Posted 13:12 12th September 2012
makemehappy says...
Too much back row competiton around. Should be in the frame, but just not big enough for me. I'd guess a 3/4 choice openside for the Lions.
Posted 13:11 12th September 2012
DrDeath says...
Looking at this story, should the headline not be "Tipuric a dark horse for the Lions-Tandy" since this is what he was actually asked!
More tabloid style headlines PR!
Posted 12:26 12th September 2012