Rugby: Wyatt Crockett - A man to celebrate

Wyatt Crockett celebrates a victory over the Blues. Photosport

If he'd been French or played in France, Wyatt Crockett would have been one of the great cult figures of the game.

Props are rock stars in France - spectacularly well paid, revered, respected, celebrated and almost without fail given a nickname and by the sheer weight of their popularity, built into a brand whose value extends way beyond their playing days.

New Zealand's not like that. The rugby-following public aren't like that anyway. Here it is those clearly visible above the line - ball-playing first-fives, all-action opensides and try-scoring wings - who take home the big cash and have the adoring masses queuing for a signature.

So Crockett, after 17 years in the elite ranks which has seen him become the most capped player in Super Rugby history and represent the All Blacks 71 times, has brought the curtain down on his international career with most of the country unaware of how significant it was and why the game in New Zealand needs more men with the same selfless character and willingness to invest heart, head and soul in the jerseys they wear without expecting anything back in return.

The qualities that defined Crockett are the ones that scream out from his retirement eulogy. Crockett was about the most unassuming All Black there has been in recent years.

He was never in danger of getting carried away with himself for locked in his psyche was the knowledge that he was not blessed with the natural talents to believe he was entitled to anything.

His only ticket to the big time was hard work and that's what he relentlessly delivered for more than 17 years, and in his early years he found the mental resilience to keep going in the face of extreme adversity.

Making just his second start for the All Blacks against Italy in the San Siro in 2009, Crockett was penalised by referee Stuart Dickinson more than seemed humanly possible.

Crockett was up against the wily and destructive Italian tight-head Martin Castrogiovanni that day and the picture that formed in Dickinson's head was of an old pro destroying a young pup.

When Crockett was replaced after 60 minutes, his reputation had taken the sort of pounding from which there were fears it may never recover.

But it was all an illusion, a lie even because two days later World Rugby's referee boss Paddy O'Brien flew to London to apologise to the All Blacks and go on record that Dickinson had been totally wrong with his adjudications and that Castrogiovanni had been bound illegally in every scrum.

The damage had been done, though, in terms of Crockett's reputation and he battled that stigma for years to come.

Crockett never verbally defended himself, he chose to correct the picture on the field and never again after that test in Milan did the All Blacks scrum have such a torrid time on his watch.

More than that, though, it is not a coincidence that Crockett's time in the national team has co-coincided with the All Blacks establishing themselves as one of the great scrummaging sides in world rugby.

It took guts and tenacity to fight back from that ugly start and the fact Crockett went on to win 71 caps is the ultimate riposte to his critics, doubters and indeed Dickinson who must surely feel some kind of shame for how badly he refereed that day.

And because Crockett had no sense of entitlement, his other great quality was his ability to be for ever grateful. Ask All Blacks coach Steve Hansen what emotions should drive his players and he will say the number one priority is for them to have gratitude.

They have to be grateful for the opportunity they have been given. Grateful to the people who have helped him get there, their parents, their family, the PE teacher back in the day who put them on the right track and anyone and everyone who could say they helped along the way.

Crockett always had that gratitude which allowed him to get over the disappointment of missing selection for the 2011 World Cup and the compounding frustration of being injured in the knockout rounds of the 2015 tournament which saw him miss playing in the final.

Never a word of complaint or self-pity was uttered by Crockett and his open letter explaining the reasons for his test retirement should be compulsory reading for all young players.

The star players that New Zealanders celebrate can't operate without the ball which is delivered by the selflessness and commitment of men such as Crockett.

The French know this and never forget it and New Zealanders, if they are to pay due homage to the career of Crockett, need to do the same.