{"id":7099,"date":"2010-12-01T11:21:50","date_gmt":"2010-12-01T11:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/?p=7099"},"modified":"2010-12-01T11:21:50","modified_gmt":"2010-12-01T11:21:50","slug":"no-8-in-focus-mark-mcconkey-ciyms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/no-8-in-focus-mark-mcconkey-ciyms\/","title":{"rendered":"No.8 – IN FOCUS – MARK MCCONKEY – CIYMS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Height:<\/strong> 6ft ish
\nWeight<\/strong>: 100kgs
\nClubs & schools<\/strong>: Campbell College, Civil Service, CIYMS, Havelock North (New Zealand)
\nHonours:<\/strong> Hawkes Bay Colts Cup Semi Finalist, CCF National 7s Champion.<\/p>\n

What is your most memorable moment as a number 8?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My best moment as a number 8 so far happened last year when I scored on my debut for CIYMS 1st XV against UUC in the league. The front five managed to give me a push over try that day so I will have to thank them on here!<\/p>\n

Best number 8 in the world in your opinion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It would have to be Kieran reid, the all blacks number 8, for me. He has a great work rate and is also quite a skilful ball carrier. <\/p>\n

Who was the most memorable number 8 to play against? <\/strong><\/p>\n

My opposite number in the Hawkes Bay semi was one of the most impressive players I have faced. He was big, strong and was everywhere on the park. It took about 3 of our players to stop him once he got going!
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What in your opinion is the role of a number 8?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A number 8 has to be a strong ball carrier as well as a skilful ball handler in attack. In defence he should be a solid tackler and always, if possible, be the last man in defence. He should also get stuck into a good few rucks and mauls to try and secure ball. A number eight basically has to be a jack of all trades, kicking excluded unless you\u2019re Zinzan Brooke!<\/p>\n

What does it feel like to be a number 8?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I really enjoy it, as it combines a bit of free running out amongst the backs with the tight physical play of the tight five. It is also quite good fun as you get a good amount of ball carrying.<\/p>\n

Shaved\/ Unshaved?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Shaved<\/p>\n

Biggest bandit on the CI team?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are a few candidates for this but the main two that I can think of from the players would be Steven Morton and Duncan Gleadhill. <\/p>\n

Beers\/Wines\/Spirits? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Has to be beers, there\u2019s not many things better than a nice post match pint!<\/p>\n

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\nSECTION SPONORS<\/strong>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>
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Height: 6ft ish Weight: 100kgs Clubs & schools: Campbell College, Civil Service, CIYMS, Havelock North (New Zealand) Honours: Hawkes Bay Colts Cup Semi Finalist, CCF National 7s Champion. What is your most memorable moment as a number 8? My best moment as a number 8 so far happened last year when I scored on my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[633,3],"tags":[3451,564,634,3828,3829,3830,1899,3831],"class_list":["post-7099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ciyms","category-ulster-rugby","tag-campbell-college-rugby","tag-civil-service-rugby","tag-ciyms-rugby","tag-havelock-north-rugby","tag-hawkes-bay-colts","tag-kieran-reid","tag-mark-mcconkey","tag-zinzan-brooke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7099"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7124,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7099\/revisions\/7124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intouchrugby.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}