History is littered with good players who spent years on the bench without winning a single Test cap but such austere days have long gone. The modern professional belongs to a more fortunate generation and snide remarks about confetti caps will not concern the five newcomers in the white jerseys of England against Argentina on Saturday.
The quintet of Michael Horak, Geoff Appleford, Ben Johnston, Phil Christophers and Alex Codling could scarcely come from more diverse backgrounds. Horak and Appleford are both South African of English descent, Christophers was raised in Germany, and Codling, whose CV includes spells at Blackheath, Richmond and Neath, would have struggled to make anyone's top-10 list of English locks three months ago.
The absence of around 30 leading candidates, though, has left the England manager Clive Woodward with little alternative and he may be interested to learn that, including Saturday's bench, he has now selected 49 players for full internationals since October.
In this instance a Test side with only 104 collective caps previously was inked in long before the midweek team's 29-24 defeat by Argentina A and Woodward remains confident that he still has a XV capable of responding better than France to the challenge of a formidable Pumas pack and a hair-raising atmosphere inside the Velez Sarsfield Stadium.
Perhaps the most interesting choice is in the back three where Horak, who was working in accounts in a London office this time last year and playing a bit of gentle touch rugby for Guildford & Godalming, has been named at full-back with Tim Stimpson on the wing. Judging by Horak's assurance for London Irish this season, he will not be fazed by the prospect of fielding the large number of high balls which Woodward expects the Pumas to launch but Stimpson has as much to gain if he can reproduce his Leicester form for his country, a trick he has not always found easy.
At Leicester they believe Stimpson's confidence is in direct proportion to how fit he is and Woodward saw encouraging physical signs in last month's Heineken Cup final against Munster. "I've made it clear to Tim I want him to challenge for international honours on his footballing ability not his kicking ability," said Woodward, who has entrusted the goalkicking duties to the fly-half Charlie Hodgson.
As for the 28-year-old Codling, who has propelled himself up the England second-row rankings via a good season with Harlequins and a forceful display against the Barbarians, the challenge is simply to grasp his unexpected chance with both hands.
Argentina, meanwhile, look set to be without their captain Lisandro Arbizu who suffered a rib injury against France.
England: Horak (London Irish); Stimpson (Leicester), Appleford (London Irish), Johnston (Saracens), Christophers (Bristol); Hodgson (Sale), Gomarsall (Gloucester); Flatman (Saracens), Thompson (Northampton), Vickery (Gloucester, capt), Codling (Harlequins), Kay (Leicester), Sanderson (Sale), Moody (Leicester), Worsley (Wasps). Replacements: Regan (Bath), Woodman (Gloucester), Vyvyan (Newcastle), Balding (Leicester), Walshe (Sale), Walder (Newcastle), Sorrell (Saracens).
