It's also the reason why rugby is able to maintain popularity. The fans know who the players are and can watch them play at home. Most New Zealanders would have never heard of Chris Wood in all likelihood.
I think for a home game players should be making that a priority. They would all be willing to play if we had a World Cup to go to. However, I don't want to criticise Chris too much because he is 22 and has already played 34 times for New Zealand. He was our best player at the OFC Nations Cup debacle. As long as he is available for the World Cup qualifiers then he deserves some leniency. Ryan Nelsen is regarded as a hero but he didn't play for us for years. Same deal with Rufer.