KEY POINTS:
A while back, a fiery young thing with a shock of blond hair arrived at the Highlanders from Mataura. It was apparent that this bombshell was keen to attract comparisons with Justin Marshall, the most famous fiery halfback to come out of Mataura.
Back then, Jimmy Cowan wanted
to be the new Justin Marshall. He didn't seem set on being Jimmy Cowan - he was happy to be a clone of the senior man.
That was understandable. Marshall was a fixture in the All Blacks and had been since 1996. Marshall was rated, rightly, one of the best halfbacks in the world.
Marshall could play all right and he was a competitive so-and-so. Never one to put his brain in gear before letting the clutch out on his mouth, Marshall, as obviously as Cowan sought comparisons, bristled when they were made.
Marshall had his own brand, his own look, his own vibe. He didn't want the intrusion of some young punk sailing to All Black glory on his coat-tails.
Now, six years on since Cowan broke into the Highlanders, the last thing Cowan needs or wants is comparisons to be made with Marshall. To make them would be to flatter the latter, to wrongly credit him with having the integrity and honesty of the younger man.
A place of birth, favourite peroxide and the same number playing jersey are all the commonalties Cowan and Marshall share.
Cowan, at least not yet, doesn't have the same feel for the test arena as Marshall. For all the guffawing at his supposedly sluggish delivery, there was no doubt about the effectiveness of Marshall's vision and ability to make the right decisions.
Maybe Cowan will close the gap, slowly refine his craft and use his defiance and physicality as his base to launch a world class career. With Cowan, anything is possible because inside a once tormented soul lies the fiercest determination to scatter the dark clouds. This is a young man who knows what lies on the wrong side of the fence and he doesn't want to go there again.
He nearly drank his way to unemployment and a life of regret and bitterness earlier this year. By November, he had made the All Black No 9 jersey his own. He was no longer a danger to himself or other late-night revellers, just a danger to vaunted test opponents who couldn't handle his power.
He had a finger on the self-destruct button in July and five months later he was sober, able to look his team-mates in the eye and assure them of his commitment to the team, to himself and to a better life. For that reason, Jimmy Cowan is New Zealand's rugby hero of 2008.
What drove Cowan to alcohol and drunken stupidity in the first place is irrelevant now. He deserves to be judged for the way he recovered, clawed his way back and for not succumbing. That took guts. It took honesty and Cowan hasn't hidden from the truth.
Following his epic performance at Eden Park against Australia in August, he fronted. He talked about how he owed his team-mates, the coaches and the New Zealand Rugby Union a big game.
In Ireland, he was quizzed about his alcoholism, how hard had he fallen, how was he recovering?
It couldn't have been easy to talk about, but he sat for 15 minutes, answering with an honesty that threw open a window into his soul. He even managed to joke about how his friends had helped save him and yet still managed to mercilessly tease him.
It was endearing. It was human. It was straight out of Southland. Opportunities to leave have come Cowan's way, especially last year when there was a mountain of cash on offer to go to France.
But he's never felt the need to leave the province he loves. He made it to the All Blacks as a Stag and it is the grounded, tell-it-as-it-is nature of the people down there that has helped haul him to where he is.
It is the craziest thing, but Cowan could now legitimately be viewed as a role model for aspiring, young players.
Booze and other temptations are on the path to stardom. So many players fall under the spell but so few fight back as emphatically as Cowan. So few stay loyal to the province that made them - they chase the dollar, see the greener grass and want it.
Cowan was once intent to be a mini-Marshall.
Presumably he can now see the value in being Jimmy Cowan.
