No I've not been working my way through the Karma Sutra, but I have been wondering about reserves rugby. Does our system treat players in certain positions unfairly because they mature later, or do we benefit from youngsters being let go to find their own level rather than all being kept in at wealthier clubs.

Yes you are right a lot of players mature later and a lot are let go when thy should be given a chance but sadly money talks and the clubs do not have enough

Marshall at Wigan was doing brilliantly earlier in the season despite being shown the door the previous season and going off to be an accountant.

Loose forward is probably the one that takes the most time and very few can master it imo. So younger players will be over looked to soon I think for this role.

Same with most team sports these days, what matters most is winning!

Looking at the football model - either winning teams continue with the players that got them there, and maybe give one or two youngsters a chance, and then spend money on big name players each season in order to try to improve on a winning model. That means letting young players go out on loan or to lower level teams to get "experience" - but even the lower level teams now, there is so much at stake to win trophies or get promoted that even they aren't giving many young players a go anymore.

Same with losing teams, there is such a massive incentive to ensure teams don't get relegated, it's easier for them to throw money at the problem and buy their way out of trouble, rather than save money and have a team of 6 or 7 young players, finding their feet for 6 months - by the time they come good, it could already be too late.

Of for the days you progressed from wing, to centre, to stand off, to loose forward.

Yes I remember Harvey Howard playing on the wing for Leeds then a couple of years later he was a Prop.

Does the loose forward even exist anymore? Most teams just stick an extra prop there. In attack the hooker packs down at loose, then in defence the fullback packs down there.

Adam Milner seems to have migrated from hooker to loose forward, after the arrival of McShane. Looks right at home.

Prop? Despite Wigan's excellent academy system, we have failed to produce a top prop in at least the 16 years I have been watching. I think the reason is that they are let go before they have time to develop.

Sadly, that's very definitely the case in jr rugby, which could be where the problem starts; junior teams are often coached by people who are driven to win every week, and in my experience there is often pressure even from parents to field the best players - all of which makes the development of young players who may not have the immediately obvious attributes (i.e - they're big) very difficult. Can't help wondering how many later developing young players are turned off the sport as a jr, because they don't get game time and as a result, never find out if they're actually any good.

Tony Clubb played Centre for England when he was with London!

Played quite a bit on the wing for the Broncos, although he was a centre covering wing rather than a true winger. I always felt he could have matured into a top notch wide running second row or a physical loose forward, but I think it kind of spoiled his development a bit by being mucked around before being used as a bash it up prop. Another London youngster whose potential probably wasn't fully realised due to erratic coaching.

Always thought HB. HBs tend to be the smaller player so physically are normally behind. Then they have the hardest job, of directing the team around. They can't just concentrate on their own game like a Prop, back-rower, centre can. They have to try make things happen for the rest of the team. Sadly most coaches daren't put a little HB in. They always go with a back-rower. Even if they do eventually breakthrough, they mostly end up being turned into a FB. I know Shaun Wane has his critics, but i personally think if George Williams came through any other coach, he would be playing in the championship now as no other coach would have allowed him to make the mistakes he did early in his career. Wane remained patient and knew long term, Williams would come good. He just needed game time and time,

Props definitely the position that it takes the longest to mature in IMO. I think a lot of that is physical but there's also a real mental side to it as well. These big kids go from dominating u19's opposition to being expected to try and do the same against full grown, experienced men who are aggressive.

The one thing I would say about Wigan lack of success in developing a top prop in a large number of years (which is true) is that Ryan Sutton is well on his way to breaking that run. He's 21 years of age and he's having a cracking season IMO. He isn't going to be a James Graham or Sam Burgess but he has the potential to play international rugby on a regular basis.

We'd be better off moving to a system like they use in New Zealand for RU where junior teams are weight based not age.

Rob Burrows hopes to turn out for the U16s next season

Sorry I could not resist.

It is not unusual to have a backline made up completely of former stand offs as the lad who stood out as a ball player from an early age gets moved around.

Maguire too.

Definitely agree with regards to the mental side of being a prop. I can think of talented players in every position except prop and hooker stepping up from our academy and instantly performing at SL level. As you say, they must have to learn that toughness, and being physically conditioned to take on bigger bodies every week for a season seems to take a long time.

I hope you are right about Sutton. I'm also a big fan, but I can remember thinking the same about Prescott, O'Carroll and Mossop to name a few.

I understand your point in that it would encourage the bigger players to learn skills, and the players who physically develop late not to give up, but would we really be preparing them for the ultimate goal of playing open age rugby if we worked that way?

What happens to the small lad when he goes from tackling players his own size to much bigger players at open age? Also, what happens to the lads in the heavy weight classes (presumably all playing prop under the current system), when they suddenly find that the pace is 100 times faster at open age? Does playing a 11 stone lad at prop or a 17 stone lad on the wing really help give them the skills they will need if they want to play professionally?

Does difference in size ever become a duty of care issue at junior level?