LONG READ The era of the hybrid player is upon us

During Leinster’s recent United Rugby Championship victory over Ulster, one sequence of play signposted the way forward. Not everyone will like it, but little is being done to prevent the surge.

Ulster had started with real intent but five damaging minutes, either side of half-time, put them 24-10 behind. With just over 25 minutes to go, Richie Murphy’s side mustered whatever they had left in them and worked their way into the Leinster 22. They needed the next score or it was game over. Leinster were well aware.

Over the next 12 phases, spread over two minutes, Leinster battered, flaked and repulsed the Ulster ball-carriers. Passing lanes were flooded and it mattered little if Ulster parried left, right or sniped up the middle. Leinster hammered and hammered with astounding physicality to drive Ulster back towards their own 22 until, eventually, a kick to touch gave everyone a chance to draw breath.

A few weeks after that match, I spoke with Willie John McBride, the former Ulster, Ireland and British & Irish Lions captain. He still loves watching rugby but, at 84, prefers to catch most games on TV. McBride told me he ‘often despairs’ at the modern game and how skilful players have been pounded to the brink of extinction. “It’s too physical and brutal now,” he lamented.

It is hard to argue otherwise. There is still a place for beauty, but it is mostly beasts. Antoine Dupont is often held up as the counter-point, but the Toulouse and France talisman is built like a Panzer.

We are now two years into top sides stress-testing their replacements benches with forwards. The ‘split’ is a common topic when match-day squads are announced. South Africa, as they often did when Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber were in tandem, led the way. The Boks looked to be teasing us all when they went with 6-2 and 7-1 bench splits in the lead-up to the 2023 World Cup. It was their new normal, though. They opted for 7-1 in their World Cup group stage loss to Ireland, and the final win over New Zealand.

In the latest Six Nations championship, England, Italy, Scotland and Ireland all dabbled with 6-2 splits. France started that way, too, before fully embracing the dark side for their final two rounds.

Matt Williams led the charge against the tactic, and was backed up by Will Greenwood, Stephen Jones and even former South Africa coach, Nick Mallett. However, rugby did as it so often does – follow the winning trend.

In the latest Six Nations championship, England, Italy, Scotland and Ireland all dabbled with 6-2 splits. France started that way, too, before fully embracing the dark side for their final two rounds. Ireland and Scotland were pummelled into submission, with the help of 7-1 benches. When Dupont was injured after 28 minutes, and replaced by Maxime Lucu, France had no recognised backs left in reserve. Pierre-Louis Barassi then copped a blow to the head, from Calvin Nash, and could not play on. There were still 34 minutes to play. Enter plug-and-play Oscar Jégou. The La Rochelle forward featured across the France back row, during their title-winning campaign, and looked at home in the centre as Fabien Galthie’s men bludgeoned their way to victory. He scored a try, as Ireland wilted, and came up with a big turnover on Sam Prendergast.

It is no coincidence that Jégou is one of rugby’s new hybrid forwards. This is exactly the vision Ronan O’Gara set out in Dublin, in May 2023, as he sat with the newly-retained Champions Cup trophy by his side. Levani Botia’s ability to slot into the back row and backline was the inspiration. Jégou made his La Rochelle debut at 19 in that 2022/23 season, and capped it off by helping France to the World Rugby U20 Championship. At 6ft 3ins, a few pounds shy of 17-stone and capable of a fair gallop, the 21-year-old provides a template for other sides to go off. Ben Earl, a slightly more compact version, is another, after his 30 minutes at centre for England’s Six Nations walloping of Wales.

Back in April, World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin confirmed there would be no impending law changes when it came to replacements. Gilpin stated there was no medical evidence that forward-heavy bench splits lead to more injuries. “The science said that’s not the case,” Gilpin commented. “So, there was no reason, from that perspective, to look at how we might do replacements differently. Ultimately, there are a lot of different ways to win a rugby match.”

I have previously floated the idea of Bundee Aki being looked at as a Botia-esque bench option as we head towards the 2027 World Cup.

Ireland, first under Andy Farrell then Simon Easterby, have already proved open to front-loading their replacements. Conor Murray was a scrum-half that could cover 10, and kick at goal, in a bind (he finished in that position against Benetton, last weekend) but he is retiring from Test rugby. Ciarán Frawley was looking like a great bench option – able to cover 10, centre and fullback – but his overall form has dipped since last season’s heroics in South Africa. Jamie Osborne seems the best bet for covering multiple backline positions, and played outhalf at underage level.

I have previously floated the idea of Bundee Aki being looked at as a Botia-esque bench option as we head towards the 2027 World Cup. The golden opportunity, though, is for mobile forwards that can be deployed in a backline. Farrell, when he returns from Lions duty, would do well to earmark a few players for hybrid roles.

The two established options that spring to mind are Cormac Izuchukwu and Ryan Baird. Both are taller and beefier than Jégou, Botia or Earl, but are physical specimens with gas to burn. Izuchukwu and Baird can also cover second row. It makes them great bench options although both have designs on blindside, especially with a Peter O’Mahony-shaped hole in the Irish back row.

A player that could really benefit from Ireland exploring this option is Max Deegan. For a lad that is 6ft 4ins and sits around 17-stone, Deegan has often felt a touch wiry for the muck and bullet demands of Champions Cup and Test rugby. The 28-year-old was Irish rugby’s big hope, back in 2016, when he won player of the tournament as Ireland U20s reached a world championship final. But, while Hugo Keenan, Andrew Porter, James Ryan and Jacob Stockdale all kicked on at Test level, the Dubliner has been mainly left to battle it out with Leinster. Farrell has given him two Test outings, the last of which was in 2021. This season has seen Deegan up his game for Leinster, and captain Ireland ‘A’. If he proved adept at covering centre, off the bench, Deegan would be an extremely useful back-up.

Ruadhán Quinn and the bulkier Brian Gleeson (6ft 4ins, a shade over 18st) are two malleable Munster options, and both only 21 and learning their trade. Get them early, like France did with Jégou, and give them backline reps.

Looking elsewhere, James Culhane (Leinster) and David McCann (Ulster) are both of a similar stature to Deegan. While they lack his big game experience, being younger may appeal to the Irish coaching set-up. Ruadhán Quinn and the bulkier Brian Gleeson (6ft 4ins, a shade over 18st) are two malleable Munster options, and both only 21 and learning their trade. Get them early, like France did with Jégou, and give them backline reps. Quinn and Gleeson have both worn No.23, this season, but have been deployed as forwards, off the bench.

Connacht’s Kiwi-born but Irish-qualified Sean Jansen is another that could get his first taste of Test experience by embracing this hybrid role. He was called into the Ireland ‘A’ squad, earlier this year.

Erasmus may not have altered rugby with his flashing signal lights or coaches as water-carrier ploys, but he can take all the credit for bench splits. Most sides have experimented with the option, and it will be fascinating to see if 7-1 becomes more fashionable, next season.

Rugby has proven that very little is set in stone and that public sentiment can sway the laws that govern the game. For now, and all the way up to the 2027 World Cup, we are in the era of bomb squads and hybrid players. Ireland, and others, will be hard at work trying to find their own irresistible forces to go up against the immovable objects.