Isaac Ross

Though he was given considerable responsibility in his debut season as an All Black, making the lineout calls, Isaac Ross had only a limited time in the national squad, his stint coming to an abrupt end in 2008.

Tall, spindly and athletic, Ross had an exceptional rugby pedigree. His father, Jock, a stalwart of Mid Canterbury, for whom he played more than 100 games, and also a lock and lineout expert, was an All Black tourist to France and Romania in 1981, while his mother, Christine, played for the Black Ferns.

Isaac Ross’s talent was obvious from an early age and after starring in Timaru Boys High School first XVs, he played for the national secondary schools and age group sides before having the first of his 53 games for Canterbury in 2006.

He played for the Crusaders for the first time in 2007, but in 2008, with Ali Williams joining the franchise for a year to partner Brad Thorn, he went into the draft to be picked up by the Highlanders. At provincial level with Canterbury he gained many honours, being in the side which won the NPC first division titles in 2008-09-10 and in the Ranfurly Shield win over Southland in 2010.

A strong Super 14 with the Crusaders in 2009, when he appeared in all 14 matches, gained him promotion to the All Blacks. He started in all of the first eight matches, against France and Italy and in the tri-nations matches against the Wallabies and Springboks. But the second to last tri-nations match, against the Springboks in Hamilton, was lost narrowly and Ross became the most notable casualty of the defeat.

For the final match the next week against the Wallabies he was not even in the 22-man squad, and that proved to be the end of his All Black career. While he showed plenty of pace and agility in the open, Ross was judged to have been less effective in some of a locks core roles in the tight, particularly applying weight in scrums.

Ross was not even taken on the end-of-year tour, Thorn, Jason Eaton, Tom Donnelly and Anthony Boric being preferred as locks, and his decline continued in the 2010 season with the Crusaders. The presence of Thorn, the return of Chris Jack from overseas and the rise of the young Sam Whitelock meant he received only five matches in the Super 15 competition. He did make the New Zealand Maori side, for which he had played in 2007-08, in 2010, but struggled even there to make the starting XV against the competition of a later All Black, Jarrad Hoeata and Hayden Triggs.

In 2011 Ross went in the draft to the Chiefs, playing 11 games and bringing his Super rugby appearances to 43, but again without looking as if he would regain his place in the national pecking order. He then departed for a club contract in Japan, choosing to make his young family his priority.