Salesi Ma'afu: Northampton Saints to sign Australia prop

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/21322368

I can see the benefit for Ma'afu - learns to scrummage in the N.hemisphere. But surely Saints will need a more solid Prop to compete with the Better packs in Premiership and Europe!

I wouldn't be surprised to see Corbs go back to his original TH spot...

HongKongCherry wrote:I wouldn't be surprised to see Corbs go back to his original TH spot...

I would be very very surprised to be honest!

1. Corbs, Waller
2. Hartley, Hayward
3. Ma'afu, Mercey

Id expect that is what they'll be looking at.

Corbs is a fantastic LH, I wouldnt want to see him shift across to the other side.

propdavid_london wrote:Corbs is a fantastic LH, I wouldnt want to see him shift across to the other side.

He was a pretty good TH before being shifted over to LH. In the long run, unless the likes of Knight, Thomas, Sinckler & Balmain reach their potential Corbs could provide the viable option to challenge Cole; especially with the way Marler & Vunipola are developing, who may well get the nod ahead of Corbs in the near future.

I'm not suggesting this will happen. Saints wouldn't invest in Ma'afu if they intend for him to sit on the bench ahead of Corbs, but I certainly feel it would potentially be a viable option to build SID in English props.

formerly known as Sam wrote:1. Corbs, Waller
2. Hartley, Hayward
3. Ma'afu, Mercey

Id expect that is what they'll be looking at.

That's how I see it, although I wouldn't be surprised if they signed another lower profile LH to cover when Corbs is away, even if they are on the bench with Waller starting.

Can you take his brother from the Blues aswell?

Or maybe hes just there to cover Corbs worrying injury problems...rotation etc.

Part of me hopes they get their hands on Charlie Beech from Bath. He's a good ball carrier but needs a bit more development in the tight exchanges. Saints could sort him out given a bit of time. Would be cheap as well which would allow Saints to continue investing in their overall squad.

Corbs has said himself that in his earlier years he was more of a TH, but was brought in by Irish as a LH as it is slightly less demanding physically. Over time his performances at LH became considerably better than those when he did play TH. Additionally, over time your body tends to adjust to one, due to the intricacies of scrummaging in each role. This is why you rarely get props who can cover both sides. Corbs said last year that he now views himself as a LH and would be very surprised if he ever reverts to TH.