Rugby Year 2009: Players To Watch

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Rugby Year 2009: Players To Watch

By Christopher Sutton
foxsports.com.au
January 27, 2009 THE 2009 rugby year promises thrills and spills aplenty for fans, and foxsports.com.au names five men we expect to feature prominently in the highlights reels.

Daniel Braid ... breakaway adds Test experience. Nathan Richter

Daniel Braid
(Queensland Reds)
The heat will be on the latest New Zealander to "pull a Robbie".

With the Australian Rugby Union rubber-stamping a new foreign-player policy, the now former New Zealand Test breakaway wasted no time escaping Auckland for a warmer climate.

Braid will bring international experience coupled with the need to prove himself as a rookie on these shores, and expectations will be high from Reds supporters and Braid himself.

Having resigned his dream of playing for his nation again (being stuck in the pecking order behind a guy called Ritchie McCaw can have that effect), 2007's New Zealand Player of the Year will want to ensure the decision wasn't made in vain.

Braid's form in red (without the incentive of an international call-up) will not only be integral to the northerners' hopes of reaching the Super 14 play-offs, it will also provide a verdict on the success of rugby's immigration policy.

Stephen Donald ... New Zealand's premier five-eighth. Reuters

Stephen Donald
(Chiefs and New Zealand)
After a breakout year in 2008, Stephen Donald must think all his Christmases have come at once: a Super 14 season without the looming shadow of Daniel Carter.

Though they represented different franchises, Carter's move to Europe will allow Donald to kick his campaign off with the mantle as New Zealand's premier domestic five-eighth.

So good was his 2008 form that Donald who forced a reshuffle in the New Zealand backline, sending Carter to the centres to accommodate his inclusion.

Donald is a damaging runner with a radar-like passing game and a polished boot, and look for 2009 to be the year that he and his Chiefs affirm themselves as a force to be reckoned with in New Zealand rugby.

Isma-eel Dollie ... overlooked by the Stormers. Getty Images

Isma-eel Dollie (Brumbies)
Isma-eel Dollie, technically speaking, doesn’t have a contract with Brumbies. Rather, he is contracted with the franchise's academy. But we should remember his name as a rising star of the game.

A bolter in South Africa coach Peter de Villiers' 2008 training squad, the fly-half was overlooked for the Stormers' 2009 Super 14 plans. So, inspired by the feats of South Africa-cum-Australia winger Clyde Rathbone, Dollie sent his CV to the Brumbies, along with a DVD of his handiwork, in the hope of them throwing him a lifeline.

Don’t be surprised to see this kid break through in a season when the boys from the nation's capital are set to struggle.

He'll be doing it all for the love of the game, though, with the tier-three contract void of wages or payments for expenses.

Chris Hickey ... Tahs franchise desperate to go one step better. Anthony Reginato

Chris Hickey (NSW Waratahs)
Chris Hickey walks into the toughest and most scrutinised coaching role in Super 14 rugby with a proven track record at domestic level, appearing in 16 consecutive grand finals from 1990.

All eyes will be on Hickey when the campaign gets underway, and New South Wales officials, especially, need him to get results pronto to spare their blushes.

The Waratahs, you'll remember, made their second Super rugby final after officials announced the axing of Ewen McKenzie in early 2008, .

Far from inheriting a team down on its luck, Hickey takes over a franchise desperate to go one step better. But he'll have to do it without the forward power of his predecessor, with Dan Vickerman, Rocky Elsom and David Lyons all lost to foreign shores and Matthew Dunning sidelined with injury.

The expectations will be great and the critical analysis even greater.

Matt Giteau ... linchpin of any side. Theo fakos

Matt Giteau
(Western Force and Australia)
Matt Giteau will be hoping for a quick-fire start to his Super 14 campaign, to direct attention back to his on-field exploits.

After the collapse of franchise sponsor Firepower left question marks over Giteau's future in Perth, or even Australia, the playmaker's future was heavily scrutinised before Giteau confirmed he was staying put for 2009.

Giteau's reputation means he starts every season as a player to watch and, injury aside, he rarely disappoints.

Now he faces the challenge of lifting a Force team that boasts genuine strike-power into the play-offs for the first time in what could be his final season out west.

When all's said and done, Giteau will continue to be the linchpin of any side he's a part of.

The incentive of putting a frustrating off-season behind him will inspire an even greater year at both domestic and international level.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...017891,00.html

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