Sensational Sinbad was marooned by his injuries

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful

What’s happening here?

It’s February 18, 2012 and James Simpson-Daniel is doing his stuff for Gloucester against Bath at The Rec. It’s getting towards the end of his career but nothing much has changed. He can still dismiss opponents with a withering burst of pace, a powerful shrug of his hips or a dramatic change of direction.

What’s the story behind the picture?

In short an under-appreciated talent and unlucky player. Simpson-Daniel was an exceptionally gifted wing – quick but strong, adventurous but also practical – who for a number of reasons never quite achieved legendary status outside of Gloucester where he was adored and quickly earned the nickname Sinbad for his sorcery.

A product of Sedbergh School – which also spawned Wavell Wakefield, Will Carling and Will Greenwood – he endured a combination of bad luck with injuries, often at key times, and that mistrust which always seems to afflict England coaches when confronted with genius or a player who is a bit different.

His absolute pomp came early in his career with 2002 his annus mirablis. With JSD as their trump card England claimed their first-ever Hong Kong Sevens title with the young wing lighting up the tournament and scoring three tries in the final when they beat Fiji 32-20. Rarely have the Fijians been so upstaged at their own game. A major player was moving among us.

Later that season, at age 19, he scored a memorable try for England against the Barbarians, making Jonah Lomu suffer in his wake, and later that year made his Test debut in a famous England win over the All Blacks.

But then fate struck. He fell ill with glandular fever and missed most of the Six Nations. The back three of Josh Lewsey, Ben Cohen and Jason Robinson began to establish themselves and how do you break into that unit?

He recovered, however, to play a starring role in Gloucester’s Powergen Cup win, played against Wales in a big World Cup warm-up win but was then struck down that summer with a back injury and fell out of contention for the World Cup. Talk about sliding door moments. What might have been had he travelled to Australia?

What happened next?

He plugged on, he was still young, always scoring special tries for Gloucester but invariably picking up hamstring, groin and particularly ankle injuries when an England return seemed likely. His last chance effectively came in 2011 when he was very much on Martin Johnson’s radar for RWC2011 but he was among the last five players released just before the party left for New Zealand.

As for this match, Gloucester squeezed out an invaluable 14-11 win over their old rivals, a brilliant run and pass from JSD carving out the vital score.

Why is this picture iconic?

This one is unashamedly for the Gloucester faithful who need a little cheering up. They might have been brought up on hairy arsed forwards with cauliflower ears – hardmen who got their retaliation in first – but they quickly grew to love Simpson-Daniel and his buccaneering ways that garnered him 120 tries for the club. He savaged the opposition with his brilliance and skill. Gloucester during his time never quite achieved the greatness they threatened but with JSD on board those dreams were always permissible.

Going through the Getty archives over the last year I’ve viewed tens of thousands of images and nobody, other than perhaps Jonah Lomu, features more consistently in great action shots. Many household names prove rather elusive or there are perhaps a couple of pictures that truly do them justice – but Simpson-Daniel? There are scores of examples of him shredding defences and wrong-footing hapless defenders.

This is the one I have picked – another Dave Rogers special – largely because it not only captures SimpsonDaniel’s poise and balance but also hints at his power.

JSD was an unusual athlete. He was no muscle-bound gym monkey and appeared a little lightweight early in his career, but he always had the tree trunk legs of a prop or a 60 metre sprinter. He was as likely to use that power to burst through a tackle as to step dramatically and move into space. In fact I sometimes wonder if all that power – and the stresses it imposed on an otherwise slight frame – was one of the reasons he was a little injury prone.

I also love the utter disdain with which he has dismissed the flailing Sam Vesty behind him. The Bath fullback, like many before him, has been left chasing shadows. Simpson-Daniel is not giving Vesty a second thought, he is already assessing his next move. Does he swerve infield or hit the accelerator and sprint down the touchline?

The only thing ‘imperfect’ about this picture is that it was snapped at The Rec and not his beloved Kingsholm with the Shed roaring him on as he hugged the touchline.

Footnote: Just before he retired his horse Monbeg Dude – co-owned with Gloucester colleagues Nicky Robinson and Mike Tindall – won the Welsh Grand National. Alas Monbeg Dude also had to retire before his time in 2016, gone in the fetlock just like JSD.