Sometimes he only appeared as a golden blur – burrowing low into contact, pilfering enemy ball from a pile of fallen players, burying a bigger man in a driving tackle. Then he would burst into view, breaking the line and bringing the crowd to their feet, bobbing up in support of a teammate, or peeling off a tangle of limbs to lunge across the line and score.
Typically where he most needed to be, whether that was as the last line of defence when all ranks were broken or a bolt of inspiration when only confusion and chaos reigned. Too often it has been fronting the public after another disappointing defeat, confronting dark truths front on. That’s when we truly saw him, looking rugby fans in the eyes, vowing to do better.
