Israel Dagg has always seemed one of us – us being those not endowed with the physical and mental gifts to play sport at the highest level, that is – and his forced retirement from rugby due to injury puts him even more firmly in that category.
He was never ordinary, though. Dagg was capable of brilliance and deserved to play many more tests and to go out on his own terms but sometimes we don't always get what we want. Those of us who had to come to terms with our own sporting limitations will readily identify with that.
He went out drinking in Auckland with his good mate Cory Jane during the week of the All Blacks World Cup quarter-final against Argentina in 2011 and played so well before delivering his apologies that his stocks probably rose even higher with the public because, let's face it, who of us wouldn't want to be able to do that?
The humble young man from Hawkes Bay blessed with incredible pace and hand-eye coordination has always been a fantastic sportsman. He was a very good cricketer – a fast bowler – and as a rugby player at the Magpies, Highlanders, Crusaders and All Blacks possessed an almost supernatural ability to glide through a defensive line.
He could also almost kick the cover off a rugby ball too. His right foot was among the best the All Blacks have possessed in the modern age and it was something Dagg retained even after tearing his quadriceps off his right thigh bone when making a clearance for the Crusaders in Cape Town in 2011.
That Dagg developed into a shining star at the World Cup only three months later, usurping veteran fullback Mils Muliaina in the process, was a testament to his talent and work ethic.
Israel Dagg breaks the line to score a try against South Africa. Photo / Photosport
His performance against Australia in the semifinal in 2011 was one of his best, and his one-handed pass when tiptoeing along Eden Park's southern sideline which set up Ma'a Nonu's try will live long in the memory. A photographer brilliantly caught Dagg in the act – he looks like he's flying, a Superman all in black.
He was profoundly affected by the Canterbury earthquakes that year and, after a long break following the World Cup, admitted to being wary about returning to his adopted city to start training again with the Crusaders. Honesty and openness are two more of his qualities.
For whatever reason, Dagg often reserved his best performances against the Springboks, and two of his tries against the old foe will always stick out.
Dagg was a wing replacement in his third test in 2010 when the All Blacks played the Boks in Wellington and scored a try after gliding and stepping around five or six would-be defenders which would have resonated around the world. The biggest impact he felt was when Richie McCaw, not normally one to overdo the emotional stuff, rushed in to congratulate him.
The other was two tests later in Soweto when, as a replacement and with four minutes remaining and the score 22-all, Nonu broke through to feed a flying Dagg on the left for a try which broke the hearts of many of the 94,000 in attendance.
The affection shown by many of his former teammates after Dagg's retirement announcement is a testament to his character. Many of them would have given him a hard time about his receding hairline, which he always took with good grace.
A rare and wonderful talent who couldn't out-run Father Time, Dagg will depart with just about every rugby fan's best wishes because we could all identify with him a little bit – possibly even South Africans.
