Stepping up

Why is it that some players seem to be able to easily make the jump from club to international level (Halfpenny, North, Roberts etc), whereas some seem to drift constantly in and out of favour (Tom James, Andrew Bishop, Dan Biggar etc), usually it is the player who is an instant success and looks comfortable straight off who goes to go on to be a success.

Why is it that some players make the jump so easily, personally I think it is down to management and the proffesional nature of the player rather than simple talent

As a Cardiff Blues supporter I find that although we are slow at producing talent, but, the players we do find seem to easily fit into the Wales team - Leigh Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts, Bradley Davies, Sam Warburton have all moved swiftly from the Blues 1st team to the Wales 1st team (usually within their first/second season of proffessional rugby) , I think this is due to the way the players are managed by the Blues coachs and the proffessional nature instilled by some of the senior player - Martyn Williams, Xavier Rush and Paul Tito.

Can you think of any players who have bucked the trend and made a name for themselves after a shaky start on the international level?

Well Gwyn Jones was second / third choice for Llanellli at openside when he got picked for Wales and cemented the Wales jersey.

Jonah Lomu had a horrific start to international rugby with half of New Zealand wondering what all the fuss was about when he played in the New Zealand team that lost home test series 2-0 to France in 1994.
He later went on to make a big impact in 1995. But in 1994 people were slagging him rotten.

Neil Jenkins had a terrible start to international rugby for Wales in the 1991 five nations and was ejected from the World Cup squad, but he eventually turned into a decent player in about 1994.

Lomu is hardly an example in the way the posts describes it. Lomu was at 19 and 40 odd days the youngest AB ever in his debut against France. Anyone can be excused for their debut espeacially at that age , After that series achieved a standard not seen before or since. I don't recall the 'slagging him rotten' in the way described here. At least not in NZ. I think we know our players a bit better than that.

It's an interesting question. You see the same in some other sports. Graeme Hick was a run-machine in county cricket, but never really made an impact at test level. There were some weaknesses in his technique that county-level bowlers couldn't exploit, but Test bowlers could. In rugby it could be a question of speed of thought. Tom James has more a lot physicality and speed than Halfpenny, but Halfpenny's game-reading and finishing have been superb.

I dont know if James is faster than Halfpenny...its probably pretty close.

Daf James was dire when he played for Wales the first time. I remember my Dad (i was a wee bit young at the time) using words to discribe him that I shouldn't have heard at that age. He turned into a pretty reliable and solid player for Wales afterwards