145kg of DESTRUCTION | Will Skelton best lock in Rugby right now?!

[@StanWilks]

I remember being at Sandy Park to watch Exeter play Saracens in 2019/20 (we won 14-7). I was sat in the stands where Sarries were training, and I was shocked by how big Skelton is. He is abnormally big, even for rugby players. Very intimidating player off the field. I can't begin to imagine what he's like on it!

[@iamnutty8471]

you know he is the smallest of the three brother by 4-6inches yes?

[@iamnutty8471]

look up google images always someone bigger mark walbergh next to roch, roch next to shaq, shaq next to chinese guy!

[@Maul3286]

Gentleman off the field. I remember a couple years ago sitting with my dad at Scotstoun watching Glasgow v Saracens and our seats were right next to the opposition seating area. There weren’t enough subs seats there when he came off so he asked if he could sit in the seat that was free next to me. Chatted with him for the rest of the game. Great guy!

[@Sam-uk4mb]

you must've been slightly annoyed given his size? 😂😂

[@Maul3286]

@@Sam-uk4mb yeah he had pretty broad shoulders so hard to sit next to but decent bloke to talk to

[@ivanhughes8699]

At least he wasn't in the seat in front of you. Wouldn't see much of the game past that unit of a man!😂

[@iamnutty8471]

did he tell you to move over?

[@davidpeters3857]

The world loves the big fella…..great vid as usual

[@Waywind420]

0:04 respect to that fly half who didn't back down trying to stop skelton at full pace head on

[@snowmotion9921]

3 australian locks starting in the final of the top 14 is frankly quite admirable. No wonder Fabien Galthié is obsessed about getting Meafou for the world cup, when you see what the Skelton-Atonio combination does for La Rochelle you can only fantasize about a Meafou-Atonio pairing for France.

[@toulousefans]

Richie Arnold has been top class as well the last 3-4 years, he’s one of the few players in Toulouse to start our 4 most recent finals

[@iamnutty8471]

there were technically 5-6 oz qualified players in final you take away non french it was what like 12-14 players werent "born on french soil"

[@snowmotion9921]

@@iamnutty8471 there was no other Australians in the lineups and having 30 french players out of 46 is pretty outstanding

[@iamnutty8471]

@@snowmotion9921 meafou, skelton ,arnold. kerr barlow, UJ Seuteni all born or lived in oz enough to qualify, you knob! learn to read and apply it 2 the2 min it to look that fact up!

[@AaRon-yv8qu]

Skelton, Antonio, Meafou all born in NZ.

[@finnfitzgerald2499]

Man I really hope to see him tearing it up for Australia at the world cup

[@YallNotWhite_YourPINK]

But he's a kiwi born in NZ 😂

[@PocketRugby]

If Eddie Jones can get everyone available for Australia (including Skelton) then they are going to be a seriously scary prospect at the RWC 2023

[@iamnutty8471]

for 2027 if oz can say lets say we are toughest country code despute besides they can kill imagine even without afl contingent nfl/nrl combined NRL may get better worldwide coverage rugby takes a step up the story page!

[@TheJunglecrab]

@@iamnutty8471try and type with your eyes open next time

[@YallNotWhite_YourPINK]

Skelton is a kiwi born in NZ 😂

[@oxleytim]

​@AreTheyWhiteOrPink we welcome good people from near and far.

[@wy206]

Comment aged like milk lmao

[@BooshisLoose1]

Definitely up there as one of the best, is probably the biggest reason why leinster havent won the Heineken cup in last few years, if he had more consistent game time at international level he'd be the undisputed best second row in the world

[@paulbismuth10]

Skelton is one of a kind, i was shocked when i discovered his low number of caps ( compared to his talent and what he can bring to a side ).

[@peterscholes5732]

Its because hes a liability to his team (getting sent off for stupid things) and australia didnt fight very hard to keep him in the country

[@joedennehy386]

And he was never really fit. He looks better now, but he is yet to make an impact at the highest level

[@patrickchilds2987]

@@peterscholes5732liability 😂😂😂😂😂 Skelton is a totally different player than the one that left Australia. Seasons at Saracens and La Rochelle have turned him into a world class lock

[@Leafy653]

@@patrickchilds2987he was a gun before he left. Helped the Waratahs win the super rugby in 2014. He was too heavy though. He fixed that in Europe

[@henryshanker1972]

the fact that ive seen most of these hits in other videos is crazy

[@mr.e6748]

I think we'll start seeing more of a certain South African this rugby championship

[@timanderson2515]

Some of his offloads are impressive. The sheer size of the man!

[@nikolakozhuharov1042]

My favourite thing to see when Skelton is on the field for LaR is his fellow forwards lifting him in a line-out. Some statement of strenght. It was sad when he got sent off in a BaaBaas game.

[@AlphaNevada123]

Australia’s selection policy is messed up. I understand why they want to keep players in oz as far as reasonably practicable but give. rugby union is struggling over there that they can’t afford to limit themselves to three overseas players in their team. The ARU need to be pragmatic about it.

[@darthmaul408]

Australia need to get him into the World Cup squad. Along with Eben Etzebeth, he’s the best lock in the world and this past season, me of the most impactful players in world rugby.

[@bravoremosi1527]

Skelton is a beast ❤

[@daveholmes7130]

Skelton, Tupou, Kerevi, Koroibete with Quade feeding them….look out

[@oxleytim]

Lets hope he does a few of these great moves as Captain of the Wallabies.

[@juckoosaurus]

Man turned into an absolute power house after shaving off the lil baby beer gut

[@harryocallaghan8082]

His best ability is slowing down opposition ruck speed. He's very good at defender too. And not bad at carrying. But his precense in the lineout is not present compared to other top 2nd rows like Etzebeth, Ryan, Beirne, Retallick, Flament etc. Those locks are strong in almost every aspect of the game. Skelton shines because he has the luxery of playing amongst other physically large players like Atonio, Alldritt, Botia. Dillane & Sazy are fairly big too. The only reason the La Rochelle pack is good is because they've got absolute freaks in their team and they just bully other teams.

[@nathan._.h]

i think flament, etzebeth, beirne, de jager, ryan and probably even barrett are all better rugby players playing lock at the moment, but apart from meafou and (to a lesser extent) arnold, no one comes close to the size and physicality this man brings to the field.

[@Bacon56ful]

one of the key players aus need to shutdown boks/france power game

[@imrilategan9888]

He is so good.

[@joedennehy386]

He has improved a great deal but certainly not the worlds best. If he could play well in tests for a few years, you could rate him

[@hc8299]

I’d say the best at what he does but I wonder if he would suit a high speed team. Not sure if he would suit Australia, Saying that he probably Eddie Jones dream player

[@Tee.NZ.07]

0:05 curious as this attempt of a tackle would have been carded if it was a player bigger than the 1st 5. No arms, no attempt at wrapping. But because he got demolished, nothing.

[@mrbtapir]

It looked like he tried to wrap but Skelton just boffed his arm out of the way

[@stuartkcalvin]

Why Skelton isn't the number one pick for the Wallabies, is beyond my comprehension, oh, it's the money.

[@TobiasBarnes]

He’s captain now

[@JKMeZmA]

I hope he get selected for Australia for the WC, but it’s tough as they can only select three (likely Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi, and Marika Koroimbete)

[@KickingTeeRugby]

Why can they only select 3 ?

[@AndrewDavidForde]

@@KickingTeeRugby Australia's selection policy only allows them to pick 3 overseas players.

[@AndrewDavidForde]

Indeed, difficult one. Eddie Jones has said however if he can get fitter he will start for Australia at the World Cup

[@JKMeZmA]

@@AndrewDavidForde for sure, I reckon they may get to 5 as discussed by Jones recently before the WC which could mean Scott Sio back in the mix, or Rory Arnold.

[@6eight5ns92]

Should play for Samoa in the wc this year

[@matthew3078]

It’s almost comical how many players he sucks in with his carries

[@cjkupa]

Definitely a unit, but no fear tackling him when it comes to the national level - like my old man said....break their ankles (tackle low) and anything comes down

[@YallNotWhite_YourPINK]

I still cant believe nz all blacks let this man play for australia smh. They would rather keep the fossil whitelock 😂😂

[@subhuman119]

Unfortunately he's not the best lock in World Rugby right now and probably never was. Either Eben Etzebeth or Scott Barrett are the best. On current form, it's probably Scott Barrett.

[@HarryFinnegan-n6s]

Etzebeth is so clear of skelton, from an irish fan

[@tvpc3194]

As a leinster fan im downvoting this

[@peterscholes5732]

Very strong player, but no where near the best in the world for the sheer fact that he is a liability to his team. I mean the man got red carded in a Babas game and when he was playing for australia and the waratahs, he'd wear a yellow every second game. Hes the Australian Lavanini and Jones would never pick a guy like that for his team. This isn't to say I don't respect him. He is an incredible athlete and behemoth of a man but he is not the best in terms of the needs of a rugby team.

[@xnzmxbeast7092]

Maybe over thea but in the super rugby nah not even top 5

[@filthymutt6029]

Top 14 is higher quality than super rugby. Half of the teams in super rugby are terrible.

[@xnzmxbeast7092]

Nah top 14 is rubbish. You guys get all the players no1 wanted

[@filthymutt6029]

@@xnzmxbeast7092 Stop the cap. 7 of the super rugby teams would kill to have better players, they just can't compete financially. In any case, super rugby literally has just three elite locks- Whitelock, Barrett and Retallick. European leagues have Etzebeth, Skelton, Itoje, Beirne, Ryan... pretty much every great lock in the world except for NZ's.

[@chuck9960]

@@xnzmxbeast7092 Super rugby is dead bro. zzz. It's so bad I've resorted to watching more NH rugby myself.

[@otisspruytte6816]

The best lock in rugby right now is James Ryan

[@KickingTeeRugby]

😂😂

[@AlphaNevada123]

OK. let’s see what happens at the World Cup then we can make conclusions.

[@hc8299]

He’s definitely amongst the top 3. Etzebeth, Beirne and Ryan.