Absence makes the heart grow fonder and never more so than in the case of Nick Abendanon. The occasional England full back was ever the daring spark of creativity in his Bath days. Now an almost Stalinist rewrite of recent rugby history has many observers claiming he is another class of player with Clermont Auvergne compared with his time at the Recreation Ground.
The man was revered as a brave, buccaneering hero in the West Country. But, then as now, he came with a damaged-goods label, a safety warning. There was and always is the imminent danger of self-combustion, causing damage to those around him.
By the time he left Bath, he had cut down on the frequency of these explosions but once a reputation