3. Matthew Tait
His awful debut: Gavin Henson caught him with a couple of huge-hitting tackles, England lost 11-9, and the second youngest player to play for England since the Second World War (Jonny Wilkinson was the youngest) was promptly thrown back into the wilderness, his self-esteem badly bruised.
What happened after? The versatile back was the last member of England’s starting XV from the 2007 World Cup final defeat by South Africa still playing. Tait won 36 England caps between 2005 and 2010 and played 280 club matches, also winning the 2012 Premiership title and the 2017 Anglo-Welsh Cup with Leicester.