Montgomery: The role has changed
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The arrival of players like Israel Folau, Ben Smith and Willie le Roux has changed to the role of fullback according to Springbok great Percy Montgomery.
The World Cup winning fullback met up with Darryn Pollock in Paarl to talk about the role that Willie le Roux will play in the upcoming Rugby Championship.
Montgomery is one of South Africa's most successful fullbacks but when compared with Le Roux, there is a marked difference in the way they play which the 2007 World Cup winner puts down to the evolution of the game.
"The game's defenses have become very strong so we have not seen much reward for audacious flair before," Montgomery told rugby365.
"Something is happening in the game now where we are allowing fullbacks to roam and come in anywhere on the field.
"It is great for the game, we have all been waiting for guys to be able to create something out of nothing.
"It is great to see players like Willie, Israel Folau and Ben Smith expressing their talents."
The talent of these players can not longer be ignored, and even more than that, their talent has to start becoming part of the plan according to 'Monty'
"I think coaches are going to start adapting their game plan to these exciting players, especially with the World Cup coming up," Montgomery continued.
"You don't want to give your strategy away too early – coaches are going to have to be very careful how they approach the Championship, managing things correctly to be on track for 2015.
"I think during the Championship we will probably see more of it [exciting, running rugby], the teams will start trying to create the space for the fullbacks."
Montgomery has shot out a warning about players of such talent however that especially hits a topical nerve after a long and arduous Super Rugby season.
It is especially great to see for a South African point of view that a guy like Willie [Le Roux] can come through and play that role," Monty went on.
"The real challenge is going to be not burning the guy out too much, we have a big World Cup coming up next year so it will be interesting to see how they manage him.
"Willie clearly deserves to be there just based on his performance, he is hard to ignore even if he does break the mold of South African conservatism.
"However, a guy like that you do not want to expose too much, but if he is looked after by SA Rugby we can keep him going like we have done with a guy like Bryan Habana.
"The key really is about how the coach is going to utilize and protect him."
Montgomery believes it is the Springboks good performances over the last few years that have allowed for exciting players to grow and prosper in the Springbok setup.
You are as good as your team and if the team is doing well then talent can shine and the Willies can come out and produce some good stuff, but you cannot rely on one guy to win the Championship, it is a team effort," Monty concluded.
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