The ten in rugby is a key playmaker for every team. They are pivotal in attack and can often be the difference between a good team and a great team.
As a result, the ten gets targeted by the opposition. The opposition will hit him hard, they will hit him late, they will do anything they can to rattle the ten because they know he’s an important player.
As a ten, once you realize that the opposition are targeting you, it forces you to make a decision. Do you alter your game to play a bit safer and protect yourself or do you put yourself in the line of fire to do what you came here to do?
As a spectator it’s clear what choice the ten makes and I always find it admirable when a ten doesn’t change his game despite taking a beating.
Thomas Duggan 