Rugby: Lock's spiral to obscurity

Isaac Ross played eight tests in 2009 but hasn't featured since. Photo / Chris Skelton

It's a long way from playing every test in 2009, undertaking a leadership role by calling the All Black lineouts in some of them, to playing rugby in Japan. That's the path lock Isaac Ross has taken.

Ross made the decision during Super Rugby this year to try his hand at an overseas club - NTT Communications in Japan.

One of 28 players missing from last year's squads in favour of the lure of overseas money, 27-year-old Ross is a rarity - an All Black lock of recent vintage unlikely to have made his way into a Super Rugby squad this year after formerly turning out for the Crusaders and Chiefs.

His fall from grace has been a highly public one - and that in a year when New Zealand's locking stakes are thin as regards senior players. Brad Thorn has stepped down from the All Blacks and the senior men in the tall timber department are Ali Williams, Anthony Boric and the Crusaders' Tom Donnelly, now 30 (as is Williams). Another former All Black - Bryn Evans, formerly of the Blues and Hurricanes - has also left to play for London Irish.

Ross' last franchise, the Chiefs, have chosen five locks - veteran Craig Clarke, Romana Graham (banned for the first six weeks of this season after a head butt drew that penalty last season), Samoa's well-performed World Cup lock Kane Thompson and promising youngsters Brodie Retallick and Mike Fitzgerald.

After what seemed a promising 2009 - when he played all of his eight tests, scoring tries against South Africa and Italy - Ross' career has nose-dived.

He seemed ideal at the time - a ball-winning lineout lock who was highly mobile and who possessed new age skills like the ability to beat a man; even a bit of a kicking game.

But word began to filter out of the All Black camp that all might not be well in two of a lock's core duties - pushing in the scrum and the grunt work at breakdowns. At the end of 2009, he was left out of the team to play Australia in Wellington and, a few weeks later, he was told he would not be travelling to Europe on the end-of-year tour. The reason given publicly was that it was best for him to bulk up at home.

His decline then snowballed. He was left at home when the Crusaders went to South Africa last year and making the Canterbury provincial side seemed to be as much as he could hope for. He got a Super Rugby reprieve when the Chiefs picked him up this year. He played in seven of the first eight Chiefs games (they lost three of the first four) but was relegated to the bench in South Africa for the matches against the Lions, Bulls and Stormers - and was not seen for the rest of the season, not even on the bench, except for the 18-18 draw with the Hurricanes.

"He made the decision to go up to Japan about halfway through the Super season," said his agent, Simon Porter.

While Ross is the most high-profile omission, respected Bay of Plenty loose forward Colin Bourke was also not selected by the Chiefs and is also said to be heading to Japan. Other well-known players already overseas include Taniela Moa, Aled de Malmanche, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Jared Payne, Joe Rokocoko, Luke McAlister, John Afoa, Stephen Brett, Neemia Tialata, John Schwalger, Kahn Fotuali'i, and first fives Mike Delany and Matt Berquist.