One of the most exciting runners in the world game today, whenever Robinson gets the ball a collective murmur of anticipation can be heard around the stadium.

After a hugely successful career in rugby league, he made his England debut in his adopted code during the 2001 Six Nations and after just three appearances was selected for the Lions tour of Australia that summer.

Two Test tries Down Under (and no less than five in the tour match against a Queensland President's XV) from the wing confirmed his arrival as a force on the world stage in the 15-man game and he has scarcely missed a beat since.

His primary position for Sale Sharks is at full-back yet his versatility and Josh Lewsey's form in the number 15 shirt mean he has plenty of experience on the wing, the position in which he finished the 2003 World Cup.

There he proved his ability to adapt to union beyond doubt with a memorable try that established England's first-half lead in the final against Australia.

To put icing on the cake, the Leeds-born flyer opened the 2004 Six Nations with a hat-trick of tries out of the unfamiliar inside-centre position against Italy.

Captaincy followed at first club level then with England when injury struck down Jonny Wilkinson - but Robinson himself succumbed when he broke his thumb.

He returned to the Sale side towards the end of the season and while his form in the Zurich Premiership has been somewhat patchy this term he remains a true entertainer who can leave the best defences grasping at thin air.