“Has Shontayne Hape been dropped,” asked a journalist.
“No, he hasn’t been selected,” came Martin Johnson’s reply during his tenure as England head coach. It’s the way he tells ’em, except the beetle-browed old bruiser was speaking without a trace of a smile on his face.
When should a player become concerned about not being picked by his country? When is a player axed or simply not selected? Or is it always right for an individual to be a tad worried if someone takes his Test shirt?
