number eight

Definitions

1. A box-to-box midfielder.
2. A player in the scrum, who controls the movement of the scrum, and can pick up the ball exiting the scrum; eighthman.
3. The batsman who bats eighth.

Equivalents

Examples

“Naturally, Franco plays as a number⟳ eight (a midfielder who has both attacking and defending responsibilities), but he also has the capability to play⟳ as a defensive midfielder.”

“But Ireland dug out a gutsy response and applied pressure which resulted in number⟳ eight Heaslip diving over in the corner to revive home hopes.”

CEFR level