RONNIE Flanagan played hooker for Ulster. A former Irish rugby international remembers him as a competitor who could look after himself at the head of the scram, a notoriously rough and vulnerable area.
"You don't go into the front row unless you are prepared to do physical battle and take a lot of hard knocks," he said.
And there were plenty of hard knocks this marching season. The lower Ormeau in Belfast, Drumcree, Derry, Dunloy, and Bellaghy were all contentious marching areas where the prospects of even the most cunning of officers would take a mauling.
And Mr Flanagan, as deputy RUC Chief Constable in charge of operations, was the high profile policeman present at all these locations, trying in his quiet, personable way to broker agreement between opposing forces. Sir Hugh Annesley was in overall command but operationally the buck stopped with Mr Flanagan.
He emerged from those bruising tests with his copper's boots muddied. But he's still battling and has his eye on a career goal to replace Sir Hugh Annesley when he bows out as Chief Constable in November.
He has four rivals, three from forces in Britain, and the fourth in the person of Mr Blair Wallace, the 59 year old deputy Chief Constable in charge of administration. Mr Wallace is now considered his main opponent, although Mr Flanagan would be the popular choice within the force.
He is said to be fiercely protective of his officers. "He would go through a fire of hot coals for them," says a supporter.
In any interview about recent marching crises his first comments invariably are to praise his officers. When nationalists complained about how Garvaghy Road was handled he retorted that the initial police handling of Drumcree - when the police held the line - did not win any plaudits from nationalists.
The chief difference between the two in house candidates is that Mr Wallace maintains a low profile, while Mr Flanagan is media friendly. This quality, in certain circumstances, can be a poisoned chalice.
He mixes freely with nationalist and unionist politicians, and has had no difficulty meeting Sinn Fein and loyalist politicians. He is careful but not obsessive about his security. Friends say he is witty and good company.
He is a Protestant, although at times assumptions have been made that he is a Catholic, which in an odd way points to his ability to straddle the divide.
His family comes from the Oldpark area of north Belfast, which then would have been mainly Protestant. One thing about the Flanagans, they were not bigoted, says an acquaintance.
Aged 46, his rise through the ranks has been speedy. He joined as a constable in 1970, just as the Troubles were moving into fourth gear, and served in all ranks up to superintendent. He has served all over the North, including Derry and Belfast.
He was promoted to chief superintendent in 1990, and subsequently served in charge of the Belfast urban region and the Special Branch, two fraught and often murky areas. He was in Belfast for some of the worst atrocities such as the IRA Shankill bombing and the UDA attack on Sean Graham's bookies on the lower Ormeau.
He is familiar with the intelligence world of informers, double dealing and of tangential contacts with loyalist and republican paramilitaries. Before the IRA ceasefire, he was one of Sir Hugh Annesley's closest aides. He is said to be Sir Hugh's favoured successor, again something that could be a poisoned chalice.
He will argue his corner but will listen, and has a tendency to throw the argument back on the other person. What about nationalist concerns, he may be asked. "What about what my officers have to go through policing these marches?" he will reply.
But he is the chief officer with whom loyalists and nationalists alike are prepared to deal when disputed marches are being discussed.
One leading republican involved in negotiations surrounding some of this summer's disputed marches said Mr Flanagan was sincere and cordial, but "couldn't deliver". "His mistake was that he believed his own publicity. He believed his officers would act impartially at Drumcree. He was not expecting a mutiny, and that's what he got."
The republican added: "He has no chance of getting the top job. I'm not sure if he would even have the heart for it now."
But his colleagues and acquaintances strongly disagree. "There is no doubting that Ronnie is ambitious," says a friend who reckons he has a good chance despite the fallout from Drumcree.
One senior nationalist politician who has studied his career development says Mr Flanagan "has evolved into a policeman who realises that there are times when it's in everyone's interests for the cops to adopt a sensitive role. He'll play the soft cop, or the hard cop, as and when the need demands."
Alex Attwood, a senior SDLP figure in west Belfast, says Mr Flanagan represents those in the RUC who want to "edge forward" rather than remain rutted in old ways. Mr Attwood, however, would prefer them to "leap forward".
Jim Rodgers, an Ulster Unionist councillor, describes Mr Flanagan as a "good friend". "He is articulate, is good on radio and TV, and that is something that the RUC has badly needed in recent years. He is also willing to talk to you, when so often in the past the RUC has distanced itself from elected representatives."
But Drumcree is a problem. "I know from speaking to my colleagues that he has lost a lot of confidence of unionists. They think he is bending too much in favour of nationalists and republicans," says Mr Rodgers.
Interviews for the post of Chief Constable are being held by the Police Authority at the end of this month. Observers reckon it's between Mr Flanagan and Mr Wallace, unless one of the other candidates explodes into brilliance.
Mr Flanagan has gone out of his way to play ball with his employers, the Police Authority, unlike Sir Hugh Annesley who, as one insider complained, treated the authority with "courteous contempt".
The insider added: "If Ronnie gets his hands on the reins he will have a clear set of principles. He will be innovative and very brave. He has a real sense of policing as a vocation."
Mgr Denis Faul said: "Ronnie Flanagan is the great white hope of the RUC. He will deliver them, if anybody will deliver when, into an acceptable situation.
