If Danny Grewcock were a professional soccer player it is safe to assume he would be bracketed in the same dark-arts category as Roy Keane, Robbie Savage and Ron 'Chopper' Harris.

Fortunately for England rugby fans, Grewcock chose to ply his trade in the murky recesses of scrum, ruck and maul - areas which can sometimes resemble a lawless society.

Let's not beat about the bush here. Grewcock has built up a 'bad-boy' reputation thanks to a disciplinary record which would leave him struggling to pull his socks on if electronic tagging were ever introduced in rugby.

His list of 'previous' makes grisly reading - sent off playing for England against New Zealand in 1998; sent off for punching Lawrence Dallaglio during a showpiece European final; sent off for use of the boot on his former England team-mate Kyran Bracken, although a subsequent suspension was rescinded on appeal.

Grewcock has also done his bit to keep the citing officer's industry in business, copping bans during England's 2004 New Zealand tour and last year's miserable Lions expedition to the same country.

On another infamous occasion, he tore up an opponent's scrum-cap during a Premiership game - landing an unsporting behaviour charge - while a stamp to Llanelli Scarlets fly-half Mike Hercus' groin as recently as last Saturday briefly threatened his participation for England against France this weekend.

It is wholly apt Grewcock was born in Coventry - given the number of times he has been sent there by rugby's disciplinarians.

But when England head to Paris for Sunday's Six Nations Championship showdown with France he will travel as one of the few genuine world-class players - on current form - available to head coach Andy Robinson.

Grewcock has won 62 caps in a Test career spanning almost nine years. Only six England forwards - Jason Leonard, Martin Johnson, Dallaglio, Richard Hill, Neil Back and Brian Moore - have worn the white shirt more times.

To dismiss the 33-year-old as little more than a serial offender does him a dis-service and misses the point about Grewcock's status as one of planet rugby's finest forwards.

"He is a superb player, and someone I have learnt a lot from," says Grewcock's Bath and England second-row partner Steve Borthwick.

"He is thoroughly professional in his approach to the game and he is a great role model for the younger players, especially at Bath.

"Danny does so much work. He might not have the word captain after his name, but I am very aware of just how important his role is with Bath and England.

"I know exactly what he is going to deliver, because he delivers it every week - and when you have someone who is that reliable at such a high standard of play, it is very easy to play alongside him."

Many years ago, I remember asking revered Pontypool hard-man John Perkins to assess the qualities of a team-mate as 'Pooler' prepared for a Welsh Cup match.

Perkins paused for a moment, and then said: "Put it this way, if I was going on a tiger hunt he would be the bloke I'd want alongside me."

That is exactly the point about Grewcock.

While it is easy to get starry-eyed about the pyrotechnics created by superstars such as Dan Carter, Joe Rokocoko, Yannick Jauzion and Brian O'Driscoll, rugby union remains fundamentally a quest for physical domination over your opponent.

Without the forwards putting in hard slog and hard yards, back divisions cannot operate - and there are few players around with a more efficient work-rate than Grewcock.

Sir Clive Woodward often described Test rugby as about "playing on the edge of the edge" - and while Grewcock might have disappeared over the precipice more than once, he keeps climbing back.

Grewcock is old school in that it would not matter if he was playing for England in a World Cup final or Bath United against "Old Poshonians" on a wet Monday night in the west country. His commitment, dedication and efficiency never wavers.

You can safely bet your last penny that Grewcock is one of the first names Robinson writes down on his England team-sheet, and it is a trend which should continue all the way through - and possibly beyond - next year's World Cup defence in France.

Grewcock will be 35 a fortnight after the 2007 World Cup final; yet a new three-year contract he recently penned at Bath suggests he has no intention of going away quietly any time soon.

When the going gets tough the tough get going, and there are many expert judges who feel Grewcock is currently playing his best rugby since the 2001 Lions tour of Australia.

What a travesty then if the softly-spoken England lock is remembered more for being associated with yellow or red cards, rather than his immense playing ability.

If Grewcock wore the blue of France or All Black of New Zealand he would be a hero among the supporters.

Many rugby followers probably will not understand Grewcock's true worth until he is no longer there, which is something Manchester United fans are still probably saying about Keane.

In the meantime, roll on Paris and 'Le Crunch', a ferocious battle not for the faint-hearted when 'in-your-face' rugby will dominate Robinson's pre-match instructions to his team.

Cue Danny.