Who is your clubs unsung hero?

It's a simple question really, which player at your club do your fans appreciate more than fans of the opposition who at times call Joe Jones by the names James John.

For my club i'll put down our best operator in the side being our young lock Dominic Barrow , real beast of a man , just keeps running , tackling , smashing people and rucks. A presence in the lineout unlike any of our others.

I'd have him in the Saxons squad as i think he's better than Gloucester's Elliot Stookes.

Who would your clubs be?

Possibly Nic Rouse for Irish - he has a huge engine and is a real line-out maestro.

I think at times you dont realise what you have till its gone. For Quins in past seasons its guys like -

Olly Kohn - always massively missed when he's not playing.
Mike Ross - there was a massive gap there for a few seasons till JJ started coming good.

Now is a bit trickier - Guys like Nick Evans are massively influential along with the other England representatives (but that doesnt make them elligible for unsung).

Perhaps a guy like Ugo Monye (certainly had a lot of exposure+Lions caps) but he puts his body on the line for Quins every game.

Well you have to feel for Roger Wilson - 100 odd starts in the AP and another 100 for Ulster and Will Greenwood doesn't even know his name ....

Driver...i think i might say Rob Vickers for us.

A woeful lineout thrower he transfered to LH Prop a move i thought alarming. Ive since swallowed humble pie.

Hhe not only made the position his own but probably is the first name on the teamsheet. Unassuming quiet he just gets on with the job and whilst hes not destructive, i dont think ive seen any prop get the better of him yet. He just gives you a quality premier standard prop who does everything well and i think you only realise what he does whe hes not there.

Its noticeable that when he got injured on saturday its caused such a stir and concern amongst our fans to see how long he'll be out for.

Darren Cave, I think.

rodders wrote:Well you have to feel for Roger Wilson - 100 odd starts in the AP and another 100 for Ulster and Will Greenwood doesn't even know his name ....

Roger Wilson?  As a Saints supporter I can confidently say everyone in Northampton knows who he is.  He would never have made any list of un-appreciated or under-appreciated because he was very well respected.  It was a shame to see him leave.

He captained Ulster on Saturday Doc. In the post-match interview Will Greenwood introduced him as Rory Wilson- he didn't look pleased!

Good stuff, Notch. He always led by example.
Was one of the key figures leading Saints back from relegation to regularly challenging at the top of the Premiership table. A clear crowd favourite.

It was either Josh Turnbull or Gareth Maule until they left. Both have never let us down. But I would say Rob McCusker now. He has had to spend two seasons playing out of position due to lack of a real option at 8, and to his credit never complained or looked to jump ship to a side where he could play where he preferred. And during that time he also took a fair deal of abuse from supporters and pundits too.

I'd say yer man O'Driscoll who retired from Leinster last year. He was handy enough in the centre, and got a few tries for them. Not bad at tackling either.

Could be Lowe for us

Over the last decade I would say Louis Deacon. Oft derided by other fans, mocked when performing for England, but Leicester were always much stronger when he played.

Deacon is close to the end though, so now probably either Jordan Crane or Anthony Allen. Crane does the hard work and provides the grunt that allows the flashier forwards to shine. Allen is the most important player in our back division. Pundits always seem to want a flashier player, opposition fans cannot spell his name, but in both attack and defence we are twice the side when he plays.

I would still love Allen to be there for England. Best 12 in the premiership IMO

Easter another contender for us, not sure if he counts as unsung

Actually TW up there as well, very underrated outside the club, maybe partially due to past crimes

SirBurger wrote:Possibly Nic Rouse for Irish - he has a huge engine and is a real line-out maestro.

Nic Rouse is a great shout.  Another one that other clubs fans don't seem to rate, but we at Irish value very highly is David Paice.  We always look a much stronger outfit when he is playing, although I am hopeful that Gerard Ellis will come through this season and challenge him for the number 2 jersey.

Ozzy3213 wrote:

SirBurger wrote:Possibly Nic Rouse for Irish - he has a huge engine and is a real line-out maestro.

Nic Rouse is a great shout.  Another one that other clubs fans don't seem to rate, but we at Irish value very highly is David Paice.  We always look a much stronger outfit when he is playing, although I am hopeful that Gerard Ellis will come through this season and challenge him for the number 2 jersey.

Paice is another good shout - the first name on the team sheet for me. Fans from other clubs never seem to really rate him and definitely don't think he should be in the international reckoning.

Hi CJ - yes, I thought Tom Williams too - excellent club man and has stuck with the club through all that occured.
I used to think of guys like Tani Fuga and Ceri Jones that always used to do a great job for Quins but got very little external recognition (people at Quins appreciated them though).

Matt O'Connor for Leinster.

He's taken a successful blueprint and stamped his own authority onto it. It's not easy to follow perfection (Schmidt) and undo most of the good work but O'Connor seems like he might be man enough for the job

Tom W is definitely a candidate, but for me it's George Lowe. He's one of a group of players who came through the academy around the time of our ND1 season who all broke into the squad early, have played with astonishing consistency over the years and if you cut them would bleed sky blue, chocolate and light grey in addition to the regulation claret.

Of that group, Robson is a great club player but just not quite big enough to be a modern internationa lock. Brown and Robshaw eventually got international recognition after long years with only Quins fans singing their praises. Lowe might have joined them but for three things - a broken ankle sustained on tour with England a couple of seasons ago, a "dislocated head" sustained in the early part of last season, and Manu Tuilagi.

I hope he can get back to his best when he returns next month. He's not a flashy player (one reason I think he's unsung), but his choice of lines and positioning have always been exceptional.

For Saracens I would say Chris Wyles - been the ultimate squad player in the last few seasons who can play wing,full back and centre. Good reliable player who contributes effectively throughout the season without standing out from the crowd.

For Wasps I'm going with Charlie Davies. Generally a back up to Joe Simpson at 9. He doesn't have Simmo's searing pace, but he does the basics better and quicker at getting the ball away at the breakdown.

That alone is crucial when you have the pace in the backs that Wasps have.

beshocked wrote:For Saracens I would say Chris Wyles - been the ultimate squad player in the last few seasons who can play wing,full back and centre. Good reliable player who contributes effectively throughout the season without standing out from the crowd.

Good call. A very consistent performer every time I've seen him.

For Exe, I'm going with Phi Dollman - he won't necessarily be the first choice in any particular position, but he covers pretty much the entire backline from 10-15 and you never feel that he'll let you down. Jason Shoemark would have gotten my vote in the last couple of seasons for his unsung creativity and brutal defense - a lynchpin for Chiefs

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:For Exe, I'm going with Phi Dollman - he won't necessarily be the first choice in any particular position, but he covers pretty much the entire backline from 10-15 and you never feel that he'll let you down.  Jason Shoemark would have gotten my vote in the last couple of seasons for his unsung creativity and brutal defense - a lynchpin for Chiefs

Dolly played 9 briefly against Toulon, too. Not as good a scrum-half as Budgie, mind.

Elliott Stooke for Glaws as I think he's better than Newcastle's Dominic Barrow

SirBurger wrote:

Ozzy3213 wrote:

SirBurger wrote:Possibly Nic Rouse for Irish - he has a huge engine and is a real line-out maestro.

Nic Rouse is a great shout.  Another one that other clubs fans don't seem to rate, but we at Irish value very highly is David Paice.  We always look a much stronger outfit when he is playing, although I am hopeful that Gerard Ellis will come through this season and challenge him for the number 2 jersey.

Paice is another good shout - the first name on the team sheet for me. Fans from other clubs never seem to really rate him and definitely don't think he should be in the international reckoning.

After interviewing him and Blair Cowan yesterday, Paice is a definite for unsung hero.  Appears to be held in seriously high regard by the rest of the team.

Ozzy3213 wrote:

SirBurger wrote:

Ozzy3213 wrote:

SirBurger wrote:Possibly Nic Rouse for Irish - he has a huge engine and is a real line-out maestro.

Nic Rouse is a great shout.  Another one that other clubs fans don't seem to rate, but we at Irish value very highly is David Paice.  We always look a much stronger outfit when he is playing, although I am hopeful that Gerard Ellis will come through this season and challenge him for the number 2 jersey.

Paice is another good shout - the first name on the team sheet for me. Fans from other clubs never seem to really rate him and definitely don't think he should be in the international reckoning.

After interviewing him and Blair Cowan yesterday, Paice is a definite for unsung hero.  Appears to be held in seriously high regard by the rest of the team.

The thing that surprised me last year when listening to the Tuesday Teamtalk Youtube videos was how many players said he was the leader of the side. I had never really considered him in that vein before last season. However, you do get the impression he would run through brick walls for the side. His set-piece is very solid and he is good at the breakdown. If we can keep Ellis then he will eventually overtake Paice, but it may take a couple of seasons because Paice is clearly a very important leader in a side that is a bit short in that department.

HongKongCherry wrote:Elliott Stooke for Glaws as I think he's better than Newcastle's Dominic Barrow

I see what you did there....

Not sure for the Blues as there's no one that really stands out. A couple years back, for me, it was Deiniol Jones. A solid second row who was ever present for the team and a real worker. Molitika was another one too.

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:For Exe, I'm going with Phi Dollman - he won't necessarily be the first choice in any particular position, but he covers pretty much the entire backline from 10-15 and you never feel that he'll let you down.  Jason Shoemark would have gotten my vote in the last couple of seasons for his unsung creativity and brutal defense - a lynchpin for Chiefs

I love Dolly. I wish we still had him

Lewis Evans for me. Doesn't really get the recognition he deserves, with the obsession over WRUburton