In fairness to Gear, he's never exactly been given consistent opportunities to prove himself to be that good. I would argue he has been better than many of them over a consistent period of time (in fact I think he's probably been the best finisher since around 2008). Fortunately Howlett, Rokocoko and Gear all benefited from playing in good Super Rugby teams. Gear moved from the Hurricanes to the Highlanders and stood out for both of them, despite being very under-performing teams.
Sadly the All Blacks selected wingers after a rough 2009, who were very comfortable under the high ball. I think Gear got tarnished with Rokocoko (who I also love) as a winger who may be exposed in the air, and so didn't really get his opportunities. As we've seen with Savea, the logic has changed a bit to show that you can work on aerial skills.
In fairness to the AB's selectors if Gear had taken the chances he was given they probably would have given him a consistent chance to prove himself............
(I don't necessarily believe that, it is just fun to wind up Nick. Though Gear didn't really take his chances initially I thought he really took his chances on the 2010 end of year tour, so deserved more chances after that).
My biggest issue with Gear has always been his consistency. I do think he had issues on defense (mainly positional), under the high ball, and with his work-rate, but I felt he has largely addressed these issues. My only real concern is his habit of being outstanding one week, then completely disappearing the next. For every strong match he had for the Highlanders (and he had a few) we would get a match where he just seemed to show no enthusiasm at all. Instead of smashing people (both on attack and defense) he seemed to quietly jog around the field and went into contact like a hemophiliac kitten (to quote Nickdnz, though he was referring to a different player). For me this inconsistency seems to be more physiological than physical. Whenever he has played for the NZ Maori he was been quite simply outstanding, and during the 2010 end of tour he played 3-4 excellent test matches in a row. I just want him to go out and smash people every week (like Savea does), as I believe he is capable of this....
I have seen alot of Gear before and during Toulouse, I just think that for a winger in the All Blacks he has scored 8 tries in 14 test which isn't great. I know Huget is worse with 6 in 26 but after the 6 nations he really went up in my opinion. Now thinking about it I would push Visser way up, scores a hell of alot of tries.
So overall Gear incredible talent, big scary runner but hasn't got alot of strings to his bow, which is probably why he hasn't got as many caps as he should. Huget gives you a bit more versatility and has recently found a scoring touch internationally.
I believe it was only 6 tries in 14 tests.....
In saying that I'm actually going to defend Gear's try scoring record at test level. Though 6 tries in 14 tests seems poor for an AB's winger, during the period that he played for the AB's that isn't actually a bad record. One thing to consider was how the AB's used their wings under Graham Henry from 2008-2011. Most test sides became very adept at the drift defense over this period, meaning the AB's wings in general had very little space to display their talents. Rather than continuously pass the ball out wide and limit the space of the wings the AB's played a far more direct style during this period. There was a lot of one-off running close to breakdown (lead by Kaino), with the halfbacks looking to put forward runners into gaps (this really suited the likes of Weepu, Cowan etc). The AB's also attacked a lot in the midfield, with Nonu and SBW particularly prominent as ball runners. While there was some discontent in NZ about our lack of strike weapons out wide I can see why Henry and co. chose the more conservative route - if you aren't able to get the ball to your wings in space it won't matter how big/strong/fast they are, and indeed picking a safer player with a much higher work-rate may be the best option.
The top try scorers during that period were Ma'a Nonu (19 tries), Mils Muliaina (18 tries), and Conrad Smith (15 tries). Kahui's 10 tries placed him in 4th spot, while the regular wings like Jane (9 tries in 32 tests), Sivivatu (8 tries in 24 tests), and Rokocoko (3 tries in 20 tests) all had very low scoring rates by AB's wing standards. Indeed the AB's wings scored 30 tries / 49 tests (0.61 tries/test) versus tier 1 nations over that period, with this accounting for 30/142 (21%) of the AB's tries during this period.
This has changed dramatically since Hansen took over. The AB's have played far more expansively these last few years, with Aaron Smith's passing game the key to this (there is a reason they seldom take him off the field). The AB's seldom attack through the midfield these days (one of the reasons Nonu is no longer a key player IMO), instead look to out-flank the opposition, and have big forwards (Read, Luatua, Messam, Coles) ranging wide straightening the line to draw in defenders and make room for the wings. Since the start of the Hansen era wings have scored 46 in 32 matches (1.44 tries per match), with this accounting for 46/113 (41%) of the AB's tries. To put it simply, the AB's wings are scoring tries at over double the rate since Hansen took over.
What does this mean for Gear? Personally I think Gear would be ideal for the AB's under the current game-plan. He thrives in the open spaces - if Gear had been the AB's starting left wing these last few season I believe his try scoring rate would be almost as impressive as Savea's. I don't see him fitting in on the right wing, but he would clearly be my 2nd choice left wing for the AB's once he returns.
