Imagine if the last 20 years of English club rugby had passed without a single player from overseas – let alone the rest of Britain and Ireland – featuring in the Premiership. How immeasurably greyer our sporting lives would have been.
The thought occurred over the weekend, as Nick Evans bear-hugged his Harlequins director of rugby, John Kingston, and Kelly Brown treated Saracens’ fans to his best post-match Bon Jovi impression, that the finest imports are not measured purely by on-field deeds. Better, perhaps, to gauge their contribution by the size of the hole they leave behind, not simply as players but as people, too.
There are no shortage of inspirational examples: Pat Lam at Northampton around the turn of the century, Michael Lynagh and Philippe Sella in the early days at Saracens, Agustín Pichot at Bristol and Richmond, Dean Mumm at Exeter. Then there are the hard men: Olivier Azam and Terry Fanolua at Gloucester, Trever Leota at Wasps, Jacques Burger at Saracens. Maybe a local lad could have contributed some of what they delivered but no-one could have given more.
Not every signing works out, for assorted reasons. For every George Smith, Marcos Ayerza and Andre Vos there will always be one or two who come for the pension. But when you reflect on the joy and thrills supplied by, say, David Lemi, Sailosi Tagicakibau, Sinoti Sinoti and Telusa Veainu, and the sheer thunderous impact of, among others, Samu Manoa and Louis Picamoles, it becomes impossible to argue the growth of English youth has been stunted by a tidal wave of mediocrity from elsewhere.
So, in the past 20 years, who have been the best five overseas signings to grace this country’s pitches? Clearly this is an imprecise exercise: how can you calibrate the worth of the calm, intelligent, wonderfully unselfish Neil de Kock against forces of nature such as Picamoles or Leota? What price another under-rated, smart scrum-half such as Eoin Reddan against Pat Howard or Aaron Mauger, princely players who broadened many minds at Leicester? The only solution is to seek the best of both worlds: great players who generated not just respect during their time in England but genuine, one-of-us love.
The only other rule is that the final five have to be drawn from five different nations. My quintet, for what it is worth, starts with Evans, who gave up on a potential shedload of caps for the All Blacks (albeit as Dan Carter’s understudy) when he relocated to London in 2008. Harlequins tended to be a different team when a fully fit Evans was in their XV; his distinctive high-stepping Hickstead-esque kicking run-up became almost as familiar as his match-turning passes or drop-goals. New Zealand’s loss has repeatedly been The Stoop’s gain, right up until the end.
Next up is Va’aiga Tuigamala – Inga the winger – who qualifies for this select group via his Samoan heritage. He also played more Tests for Samoa than he did for New Zealand but, above all else, taught everyone at Wigan and Newcastle Falcons what class looked like regardless of the code he was playing. His faith was even stronger and his example is still talked about two decades on from Newcastle’s title-winning heyday.
Prop forwards could probably hijack this list on their own – Soane Tonga’uiha, Martin Castrogiovanni, Carl Hayman – but none gave more unstinting service or more consistent value than Ayerza, whose 11-year stay in the East Midlands has finally been ended through injury. So committed to the Tigers’ cause did he become he even named one of his polo ponies Welford Road and having shared in three Premiership titles as well as played 66 Tests for the Pumas, his twin loyalties could never be questioned.
Which leaves two more from a cast of hundreds. With apologies to Lam, Felipe Contempomi, Seilala Mapasua, Thomas Castaignede, Francois Pienaar, Niki Goneva, Dan Braid, Charles Piutau and Kurtley Beale, one of simply them has to be Burger, the hard-as-nails Namibian skipper who helped Saracens become the most feared defensive unit in Europe. When you consider he also overcame knee surgery that would have made a rhino wince, his strength of character was almost superhuman. For his performance in Saracens’ famous 46-6 win over Clermont in a European semi-final alone, he deserves his place on this roll of honour.
And the fifth man? Slightly less obvious, perhaps, but 316 games and a fistful of trophies for his adopted club are decent credentials. He is still there in a coaching capacity and his old team-mates still talk in awe-struck tones about what he could do with a rugby ball in training. Geordan Murphy has now been based in Leicester for over half his life, the kind of commitment that says it all. English club rugby has a huge amount to thank its imported talent for.
Black and blue
Everyone is warning of the inevitable physical toll awaiting the Lions in New Zealand but there is another slant to the story. In recent days two key members of the All Black back row – Jerome Kaino and Kieran Read – have undergone surgery to repair knee and thumb damage respectively; both should be fit again by the time the Test series comes around but may be short of match practice. Sam Warburton is in the same boat, of course, but the previously sidelined Vunipola brothers and Taulupe Faletau look like men peaking physically at just the right time. The Lions are not alone in needing to brace themselves.
And another thing …
Congratulations to Hartpury RFC who have become the first National One side to be promoted to the Championship with a perfect 100% record. They amassed 30 straight wins, 28 of them with a bonus point, and their Lithuanian winger Jonas Mikalcius topped the league’s try-scoring list with 36. Mikalcius is dual-registered with Harlequins and is definitely a name to watch.
