greatest players not to get a test jersey

[mania]

thinking about bradShields as a great player that didnt get a test jersey
others for NZ imho would be
Charlie Ngatai
James Lowe
Bruce Reihana
Dirk Williams

 

[Leinster Fan]

Isa Nacewa doesn't really count for this because he got two minutes off the bench for Fiji but in terms of great players who never had a proper test career he's definitely up there.

 

[Groundhog]

Paul Warwick is worth a shout. Over 200 appearances for four clubs. Was capped in a 7s game for Oz, so was never eligible anywhere else, but played in Ireland for around 7 years.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

God, I forgot Warwick existed! Was a big fan of him back in the day
Same with Bruce Reihana (though Wikipedia reckons he got three caps for the All Blacks?)

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

*ducks*

Warren Gatland

 

[Da Grappla]

Nick Abendanon, just 2 caps

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Robbie Fruean.... When he burst onto the scene he was destined to be a great All Black... was a whisker away from making the EOYT in 2010, just edged out by SBW...... never got the career he deserved due to heart complications.
Also James Lowe. His non-selection over the last couple years was criminal.

 

[Rinkadink]

Dan Ward-Smith

Absolutely ripped it up for years at Plymouth and Bristol before signing for Wasps/England A then got cruelly injured. Absolute beast.

 

[BPM]

thinking about bradShields as a great player that didnt get a test jersey
others for NZ imho would be
Charlie Ngatai
James Lowe
Bruce Reihana
Dirk Williams

The shame is that Shields and Lowe probably will get test jerseys in the near-ish future - just not for NZ.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

The shame is that Shields and Lowe probably will get test jerseys in the near-ish future - just not for NZ.

"Shame" - I can't wait to see Lowe in green!

Robbie Fruean.... When he burst onto the scene he was destined to be a great All Black... was a whisker away from making the EOYT in 2010, just edged out by SBW...... never got the career he deserved due to heart complications.
Also James Lowe. His non-selection over the last couple years was criminal.

Was Lowe's defence as big an issue over there? He rarely makes the right decision against an overlap when he hasn't got world class defenders like Ringrose and Kearney instructing him. I doubt he'd get a start for Ireland right now if he was eligible but with our coaches penchant for developing all round players here in Leinster I reckon it'll come into his game in the next couple of seasons.
h

 

[TRF_Olyy]

If we can include some one(/two) hit wonders then Topsy Ojo deserves a mention.

Drastically under utilised

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

Tom Varndell only has 4 caps...

 

[will311293]

Sam Jones.... robbed of a potentially promising England career... still upset

 

[RedruthRFC]

Dan Ward-Smith

Absolutely ripped it up for years at Plymouth and Bristol before signing for Wasps/England A then got cruelly injured. Absolute beast.

Good shout, that was one that came to my mind, although I think he was a mutant, not a beast! It was almost bizarre watching him ripping it up at level four. Albion's side was insanely strong for a level four side in those days.

I'm not sure anyone mentioned so far qualifies as a terribly good shout, or that anyone on the planet has sufficient knowledge to answer the question. These days with injuries being more commonplace and eight subs making it on to the field, anyone who's in the top three or four in their position for their country for any length of time is going to get a cap at some point. It seems far more likely that the greatest ever to never win a cap comes from an era of consistent selection policy when you had to take the field to win a cap and in England at least, play for a fashionable club. Not saying he's the best shout, but one such player is Penryn's Roger Harris, who sat on the bench behind John Pullin some 20 or 30 times but never won a cap. Before the league structure in England, I don't doubt that there were many other players who never received the recognition they deserved because they were playing for their local clubs in a county that didn't fare well in the County Championship.

 

[mdaclarke]

What about a greatest uncapped world XV? I've not been a serious rugby fan for long enough to know. But I'd love to see your teams?

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Was Lowe's defence as big an issue over there?

Wasn't his strong suit that's for sure but no it was never really a noted issue... teams never seemed to target him and we was by no means a liability in the Chiefs defence. Has that been an issue for him in Ireland? Maybe the different styles/systems are catching him out.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Wasn't his strong suit that's for sure but no it was never really a noted issue... teams never seemed to target him and we was by no means a liability in the Chiefs defence. Has that been an issue for him in Ireland? Maybe the different styles/systems are catching him out.

He's generally good with the starters but when we're resting players, which is common place in the domestic league here, he struggles massively with biting in and creating overlaps. I reckon/hope its down to missing pre-season when a lot of that is presumably implemented because he is world class going forward for us and is a great team presence, looks like an instant replacement for Isa Nacewa which is about as high a compliment as you'll get from a Leinster fan!

 

[Leinster Fan]

Wasn't his strong suit that's for sure but no it was never really a noted issue... teams never seemed to target him and we was by no means a liability in the Chiefs defence. Has that been an issue for him in Ireland? Maybe the different styles/systems are catching him out.

It's very much regarded as a weakness here. No one is doubting his attacking ability but when he hasn't had Ringrose inside him (which is a lot) he's been very poor on defending overlaps in particular. He can tackle well but his positioning has been poor. As Alpha says a lot of it is probably down to him missing the preseason as well as the first 10 or so games. He's been brilliant going forward though and has a good try ratio (7 in 11 games or something which I think is more or less in line with him in SR).

Between that and a weird foreign player rule that no one really knew about before he came here (you can only have 2 non-europe players but Saffers and PI players are exempt) he's struggled to make it into what was a very established Champions Cup team when he got here. He'll have a better year next year though and he was first onto the pitch celebrating with the players on Saturday which speaks volumes about the man's character.

 

[big ginger 8]

It's very much regarded as a weakness here. No one is doubting his attacking ability but when he hasn't had Ringrose inside him (which is a lot) he's been very poor on defending overlaps in particular. He can tackle well but his positioning has been poor. As Alpha says a lot of it is probably down to him missing the preseason as well as the first 10 or so games. He's been brilliant going forward though and has a good try ratio (7 in 11 games or something which I think is more or less in line with him in SR).

Between that and a weird foreign player rule that no one really knew about before he came here (you can only have 2 non-europe players but Saffers and PI players are exempt) he's struggled to make it into what was a very established Champions Cup team when he got here. He'll have a better year next year though and he was first onto the pitch celebrating with the players on Saturday which speaks volumes about the man's character.

He was also seemingly one of the first to strip down to his boxers in the changing room as well, despite being in a suit.

 

[Lancashire Nick]

...................................
I'm not sure anyone mentioned so far qualifies as a terribly good shout, or that anyone on the planet has sufficient knowledge to answer the question. These days with injuries being more commonplace and eight subs making it on to the field, anyone who's in the top three or four in their position for their country for any length of time is going to get a cap at some point. It seems far more likely that the greatest ever to never win a cap comes from an era of consistent selection policy when you had to take the field to win a cap and in England at least, play for a fashionable club. Not saying he's the best shout, but one such player is Penryn's Roger Harris, who sat on the bench behind John Pullin some 20 or 30 times but never won a cap. Before the league structure in England, I don't doubt that there were many other players who never received the recognition they deserved because they were playing for their local clubs in a county that didn't fare well in the County Championship.

This.

I don't know enough about worldwide rugby to comment, but back in the old amateur days, there were lots of very talented English players who never got a sniff of a jersey because they weren't playing for a fashionable club.