Brad Shields - the modern day legend who the All Blacks overlooked

Hurricanes captain Brad Shields during the Hurricanes vs Sunwolves Super Rugby match at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Friday the 27th of April 2018. Photo / Photosport.co.nz

What everyone who has coached Brad Shields likes about him is his character. He's the sort of guy who notices that kit bags need to be packed and carried and doesn't walk past thinking it is someone else's responsibility.

He's the sort of person who is conscious that a team dynamic is held together by the small things: being aware when a teammate might be down and in need of help.

And he takes that awareness and attitude on to the field which is why he frequently leads the Hurricanes' tackle count; why he's in the thick of all the heavy lifting and why he's been such a good captain for a side that many are picking to be crowned Super Rugby champions in August.

Shields is in possession of a skills portfolio that reads as if it should have won him a handful of All Blacks caps over the last few years, and yet it never has.

He's the modern day Duane Monkley – a legend within his club and wider region and yet the same recognition hasn't been forthcoming at a national level.

Not good enough for New Zealand but now fast-tracked into the England squad, Shields by virtue of that contradiction and the prolonged legal saga that shrouded his selection, is now the man everyone suddenly can't stop talking about.

What is it that England coach Eddie Jones has seen that the All Blacks may have missed?

Or is the elevation of Shields more a sign that England are in fact tumbling harder and further than anyone realises?

Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd is certain that England, rather than being desperate, have made an excellent choice – and why the All Blacks never made the same choice is something he's never quite understood.

"I don't know what they were looking for in a six but I think I have made no secret of the fact that I think Brad is a good enough player to have played in the All Blacks jersey and personally I think if he had got in there, he would have grown even more because he is
such a good person," says Boyd.

Hurricanes captain Brad Shields scores a try with Sunwolves' Michael Little during the Hurricanes vs Sunwolves Super Rugby match at the Westpac Stadium. Photo / Photosport.co.nz

"Brad is just one of our best. He is about three games away from playing 100 games for the club; he'll be the 14th centurion for the Hurricanes and he'll be a sports quiz questions because he'll be the only Hurricane to play 100 games who hasn't been an All Black. He was desperately keen to put on the black jersey but the question didn't come a knocking.

"There is nothing that he doesn't do. He is the guy who shakes everyone's hand. He is the guy who is picking up gear at the end of training.

"He is the guy who when someone is down he is empathetic. He is just an amazingly grounded guy and to my mind he is the sort of person you would be really keen for your daughter to marry."

Jones, in explaining his hopes and goals for the forthcoming tour, made it clear, indirectly perhaps, why Shields has leap-frogged a host of England-developed loose forward hopefuls.

England, so says Jones, are in dire need of selfless rather than selfish players and he wants men that can bind the collective rather than tear it up.

From what Jones has seen and heard from the other side of the world, Shields is precisely the sort of do-it-for-the-team personality England are in the market for.

Under pressure this year England fragmented. Their culture cracked a little according to Jones, with players who had once been tight as jam lids, suddenly glaring at one another, sending body language messages that suggested those who weren't playing well needed to fix things all on their own and were non gratis until they did.

That's why Jones has taken a risk on Shields. The England coach knows he's made a potentially divisive choice in picking Shields and while he can't be sure that the
Hurricanes man is a demonstrably better player than those within the English system, he's confident that Shields has significantly deeper character.

And that character is going to be incessantly tested. Shields' selection has predictably been met with resistance in some quarters of the English media – resistance bordering on hostility.

He'll be the Kiwi import, flown in on a golden ticket that some of his teammates and many of England's fans will feel he hasn't earned and doesn't deserve.

He'll be under pressure and scrutiny the instant he arrives in the England camp and everyone is going to need to see something from Shields that makes them understand why he's there: why Jones has taken such a risk in picking him.

To Shields' credit, and perhaps as further evidence of the strength of his personality, he's not pretending things will be easy or suggesting he's not aware of the bigger picture.

"It is a pretty tricky situation but I think it is how you play that matters the most," he says.

"And I have to put my hand up and head down and go to work and hopefully I gain some respect."

Others who have found themselves in similar selection sagas haven't had the fortitude to cope. Being the unwitting centre of attention and subject of fierce debate as a consequence of the decisions made by others, is not an easy place to be.

But Shields' ability to understand his responsibilities and proven ability to meet them provides a base of confidence that he'll find a way to dampen the controversy once he arrives in England and quieten a few of the more vocal agitators.

This last week has arguably been the most momentous of his career and yet he seemingly breezed through it. His legal saga about his availability ended on Thursday, he was selected for England a few hours later and then 24 hours after that, he led the Hurricanes to an impressive win at Eden Park.

And maybe most importantly of all, he had no qualms about fronting the media after the game against the Blues and face the inevitably inquiry about England.

"As a footy player you want to aim for the highest you can get and I guess for me it wasn't quite clicking in New Zealand and the other option was to go overseas," he said in explaining how his rapid elevation came to be.

"I got some good advice and the next step was to look abroad and I am pretty lucky that I have got some heritage. I am happy with my decision.

"The idea was that there was an opportunity out there and I could potentially push for that [England] spot. They [England] came to me and I wanted to put my best foot forward and I just wanted to sign for a club that was going to promote me and that I could play well for and whatever happened after that would be out of my control."

He never imagined that an England call-up would come before he'd even played for Wasps, but just because it has, that hasn't resulted in him suddenly looking even further ahead to November and the prospect of playing against the All Blacks.

"That's a fair while away," he says. "As I said, put the Hurricanes jersey on for the next few weeks and then we will worry about that after."