(David Barpal Photo)

ERIC FRY
Sometimes Eric Fry has seemed like he's just beaten down. Asked to convert from flanker to lock to prop in college, the former Jesuit and Cal standout had a lot of learning to do. In 2013 he seemed a shade worn out, asked as he was to learn the trade of a front-rower in the cauldron of the Green King RFU Championship in England, where old (and very hard) heads battle in the clay and mud.

At a real danger of being the odd man out in the front row, Fry has continued to work very hard at his game. Now with the Premiership Newcastle Falcons, he has become a consistent scrummager, and harnessed his old habits as a loose forward in the freer air of loose play.

A quiet guy who just wants to get on with it, he's done just that, and his performance against the All Blacks shows that he might well be the guy to rely on when things get tough.

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