THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW
Five years ago Johnny McNicholl found himself surrounded by so many All Blacks that it must have seemed a mere matter of time before he became one himself.
A substitute wing for the Crusaders at the 2014 Super Rugby final, he belonged to a squad studded with no fewer than 15 current or future New Zealand Test players, 12 in the starting XV, three more on the bench.
All the big names were there – Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Israel Dagg, Kieran Read, Sam Whitelock, Codie Taylor, Joe Moody…
McNicholl had rolled off the most productive of all assembly line...