COMMENT: It is strange that in a competition like Super rugby - where it is all about hype and entertainment - the most successful player in the competition is probably a guy who could walk down the road and no-one would recognise him.
Reuben Thorne is the most successful Super rugby player of all time.
Yes, old Captain Invisible takes the plaudits of being the best of the best.
Thorne - he of the fourth body to every ruck, the anti-human highlight film - has won the most Super rugby titles of any player who has appeared in the competition.
The Crusaders captain appeared in eight Super rugby finals and won seven of them.
From 1998 to 2008, Thorne was part of a dynasty which dominated Super rugby.
In 2002 the Crusaders went through the season unbeaten, never losing a game as they waltzed to the title.
But the days of big name teams winning this competition for years on end are over.
Teams being at the top of the tree for season after season is simply not going to continue.
It is becoming like the NRL across the Ditch, where no team has repeated since Brisbane in the early 1990s.
Every side is now so much closer to each other.
You only have to look at the competition so far this year. The games between the New Zealand teams have been cliff-hangers - apart from the Blues match in Christchurch last weekend, when the Auckland side did not turn up.
But games are going to be incredibly close and no team is going to dominate for long periods of time.
This has come about through various means both on and off the field.
When the Crusaders were top dog they were backed by Canterbury which drew in players from all over and produced plenty from its own stocks.
Now with the introduction of direct franchise contracting, teams can tap up players and get them to shift. Money is more tightly controlled and shared evenly so teams can not stockpile talent.
A team can not have 15 first-choice All Blacks as it will cost them too much. They simply can not afford it.
Players used to shift to the Crusaders to promote All Black chances.
But with the selections of the likes of Brodie Retallick, Aaron Smith and Charlie Faumuina, players have recognised they can go to other teams and make the next step up.
Canterbury and the Crusaders started the aggressive pursuit of young talent but have now been joined by everyone.
Damian McKenzie was schooled in Canterbury but he left to go to Hamilton and play for the Chiefs.
Teams are way more organised in scouting players than they used to be. Any top young player is well known by all the franchises.
Jeepers, year 9 players in Dunedin are getting free board at schools for their rugby talents. Everyone is organised.
Young players, too, do not want to wait for their turn.
If they are not going to get a look in, they will move on quickly.
For years, Matt Sexton and Mark Hammett swapped hooking roles at the Crusaders. These days there is no way that would happen. One would simply leave, and quickly, and try to get a job elsewhere.
So the talent is more evenly spread.
The training of the teams is all the same, so there is not much difference there, as is the analysis.
So how do you get teams back to winning titles year after year? Train hard, play hard and make the most of your ability.
Just like Thorne did for 10 years.
