In life, and particularly sport, absolutes and conventional wisdom can often be the playthings of fools.
Very few things can be defined simply in black and white terms and, even if a definition can be shoehorned onto something, often that label is outdated by the time it sticks within the public’s consciousness.
As Josh Navidi is forced to call time on his career at the age of 32 because of a serious neck injury, the first instinct is to view the achievements of the former Cardiff and Wales back-row through the simplest of lenses - as someone who achieved an incredible amount in the game and left an indelible mark on Welsh rugby in the past decade.
He was a Cardiff stalwart, one of the first names on the Welsh team sheet when fit and a British and Irish Lion. But, as you reflect more deeply on the career of Navidi, the slings and arrows of absolutes and conventional wisdom quickly become apparent.
SIGN UP: Get the latest Welsh rugby breaking news and interviews via our free daily newsletter
There was, after all, a time when Navidi didn’t seem destined for Test rugby. He was, for a while, pigeonholed as that most damning of backhanded compliments, a ‘fine regional servant’. 'Not big enough for Test rugby' was another charge that was often thrown around.
Sure, he was nothing less than excellent for Cardiff Blues week-in, week-out, but the implication was always clear - there’s a ceiling for everyone and Navidi’s was just shy of the international stage. As is the case with conventional wisdom, that tag would stick considerably longer than it perhaps should have.
And so, for a while, the dreadlocked back-row felt like one of Welsh rugby’s little secrets, reserved solely for those who’d treasure him on Friday nights at the Arms Park.
Four years separated his first and second cap for Wales. Often, it seemed like that maiden cap in 2013 against Japan would be all he would get.
In those intervening years, he won awards at the Arms Park and proved to be a constant thorn to any opponent. Granted, there was stiff competition for back-row spots in Wales, but not making a 47-man squad ahead of the 2015 World Cup is baffling in hindsight.
But finally, as it often does, conventional wisdom eventually caught up with reality. Handed a second chance in the red jersey in 2017, Navidi took it with both hands and didn’t look back.
Within a handful of appearances, he was at home on the Test stage.
"Where the hell did you find that kid with the dreadlocks?"
That was the question posed by All Blacks coach Steve Hansen to Warren Gatland after New Zealand had once again defeated Wales, despite the efforts of Navidi. It was just his sixth cap, but already he was pulling up trees against the best sides around.
Of course, the genuine answer to Hansen’s query was that he was always there. Only now were his talents being recognised.
Having spent so long being overlooked, Navidi was suddenly pretty much indispensable to Wales. His Test career is defined as much by the games he missed as the ones he played.
Had he been available for Wales' 2019 World Cup semi-final, the Springboks might have been downed. And much of Wayne Pivac's tenure was spent waiting for him to be fit. When he was, a Six Nations triumph duly followed.
As one former team-mate of Navidi's told me in the hours after his retirement, "as soon as he was fit, he was straight in the squad and every coach couldn't wait for him to get back".
His importance couldn't be overstated, but what exactly made him so special?
Sometimes, the brilliance within sport is difficult to describe or evoke directly. Sporting analysis can be as deep or shallow as you like and succinctness can be your best friend in that regard..
Just looking at any still image of Navidi in action, socks rolled down, ball in one arm and dreadlocks swirling behind him, you immediately knew what he offered.
In the most simple terms, Navidi did the basics of rugby very, very well - while putting his head where others wouldn't risk their foot.
If you want to get technical, he had all the components to make him a world-class back-rower. His collision dominance was suffocating, while his carrying combined genuine explosiveness with a litheness that would occasionally bely his destructive power.
And then there was his work at the breakdown. On both sides of the ball, Navidi was efficiency personified. Sam Warburton often used to speak about how the clearing out of rucks was about desire as much as it was about technique.
Nobody understood that more than Navidi. That's why he was so highly regarded by team-mates. Even Warburton, who rarely claims to miss the rigours of professional rugby, admits he misses lining up alongside Navidi.
That breakdown ability, particularly under Pivac when ball retention was rarely reliable, was crucial. As time went on, it became conventional wisdom that Navidi was someone who made Wales better.
Frankly, at times, he made them function. That's veering dangerously close to an absolute. In a game as complex and nuanced as rugby, it seems daft to think that Navidi's presence would make or break this Wales team.
And yet, it felt like it did.
Even now, after nearly a year away from the game, it had been tempting to state that Wales would be a different side with Navidi in their ranks.
Part of that perhaps was that nagging feeling that maybe we wouldn't see that again, that this would be one injury too many.
And so it ultimately proved.
Eventually, conventional wisdom caught up to the talents of Navidi. Now, we're perhaps left with the collective mindset that he was a player who made Wales infinitely better.
Often, he simply made them work.
Conventional wisdom will soon have to catch up with the reality of that situation as well. Because unfortunately, Cardiff and Wales will have to work without him from now on.
READ MORE:
The nine players definitely leaving the Dragons as Wales international released after a year
The Scarlets' blueprint to relaunch Ioan Lloyd's club and Wales career
Players support young star after suicide attempt and missing Davis may have drowned
Outgoing coach names Cardiff youngsters who are destined for stardom
