The Golden Greats in the Centurians Club

As George Smith closes in on his centurion game of Test rugby, Australian fans could be forgiven for forgetting just how difficult it is to accumulate so many Test appearances in a national jersey.

And in a forwards jersey, at that.

Of the nine current centurions three are Australian. That injury has led George Smith to only miss a handful of Tests since his 2000 debut does nothing to alter that perception.

However, to become the most capped Australian forward and the most capped flanker ever at the age of twenty nine, is a freakish achievement and one that should be duly acknowledged.

To that extent, George Smiths’ reputation speaks for itself. Therefore it would do the man a disservice to weakly trot out the various accolades that pepper his career.

George Smith has noted that his reliability (ergo his excellence) can be attributed to his short legs and big backside.

That sort of modesty sums up the man.

Thus, in light of such modesty, I think Smith would find it appropriate to consider the nine other centurions that have starred in our game.

David Campese – (Australia) 101 caps
Ruby union’s first sport-made millionaire was an extraordinary talent that could win and lose a game depending on which way the wind was blowing. It is a cliché, but there really are too many moments of esoteric excellence and eccentricity to recall. But I think the most significant aspect of Campese’s character was his stoic professionalism and single-minded determination in the pursuit of excellence.

Campese was not a star by chance, and that perpetual work ethic is a vital tenet of rugby union, something that all the centurions share.

Campese’s try scoring record does not look like being broken by a top-ranked IRB player any time soon, with Shane Williams needing 16 tries to equal Campese’s 64 touch downs.

Alessandro Troncon – (Italy) 101 caps
It is too easy to dismiss Troncon as a mediocre player dominating matters in a consistently weak Italian team, because that is not the case.

European fans will recall a thoroughly vibrant and abrasive player, often driving and physically spurring the Italian pack forward. Needless to say, Troncon was Man of the Match during Italy’s first Six Nations away win at Murrayfield in 2007.

He retired an Italian icon.

Percy Montgomery – (South Africa) 102 caps
Unfortunately, Montgomery may be remembered merely as a reliable, kicking back, but Percy had a very interesting career which took in stints with the Newport Gwent Dragons in Wales (including a two year ban for pushing over a referee), USAP Perpignan in France and finally with the Sharks and Stormers in South Africa, eventually signing off following the 53-8 destruction of Australia.

I doubt that the irony of that scenario evaded those involved with the ‘Inside Rugby’ programme.

Despite Montgomery’s various erratic tendencies, one does not become South Africa’s most capped player and leading scorer by coincidence.

Montgomery’s success is even more impressive in light of the fact that he wasn’t selected for international rugby for three years during his period in Wales.

Stephen Larkham – (Australia) 102 caps
Built like the proverbial garden rake, Larkham was a uniquely gifted rugby player. Having spent time in the back three, he grasped the ten jersey and never looked back.

Despite a pale, skinny frame, Larkham was by no means passive and I recall a feisty character not frightened to get involved, as Nick Easter would testify.

The term genius is oft overused, but not in this case. Larkham was quite simply a genius rugby player.

Gareth Thomas – (Wales) 103 caps: 100 Wales and 3 British and Irish Lions
Thomas always suffered from a reputation that depicted him as a party boy (apparently Richie McCaw was left speechless by his post-Test drinking in 2005), and the fact that he could play in more than one backline position (five in fact).

Despite this, Thomas eventually rose to take on the captaincy of Cardiff Blues, Wales and the British and Irish Lions, managing to also cultivate a very successful period at Toulouse – which is no mean feat for a nervous, naturally shy Welshman.

Interestingly, Thomas became the first player to lose on his 100th appearance (against Fiji in the 2007 World Cup). He is also the 9th leading rugby union test try scorer, having touched down on 41 separate occasions.

The controversial career of Thomas incorporated four world cups, two lengthy assault charges, five clubs, various Welsh test records, a Grand Slam, a Heineken Cup victory, a losing Lions tour and a suspected stroke (later diagnosed as a ruptured artery).

Welsh rugby is never without drama and no Welshman will forget Thomas’ frantic ‘Player Power’ television debate with Eddie Butler, but more tellingly no Welshman will ever forget ‘the Ayatollah’, and a man who was admired by nearly everyone, from Steve Hansen to Guy Noves to Sir Clive Woodward.

Philippe Sella – (France) 111 caps
There is little that needs to be said about Sella.

The former PE teacher, from farming stock, strode across the game like a giant. Frankly, the man possessed every talent a centre would require, and then some. To gather so many caps whilst playing in the amateur era is incredible. Sella is one of only five players to have scored a try in every round of the Five Nations.

Fabien Pelous – (France) 118 caps
Pelous was often juxtaposed with Martin Johnson, but more often he played in his shadow. Personally, I perceived Pelous as a completely different player, a fantastic athlete and a real physical specimen – something that Martin Johnson certainly was not – and a player that could also, perhaps unwisely, play in the back row.

Pelous was the standard bearer for Toulouse and France – both on and off the pitch.

A notorious story recalls how he stabbed Freddy Michalak in the hand with a fork because Michalak was misbehaving in public. A talisman who epitomised the ferocity and passion of rugby in South France.

Jason Leonard – (England) 119 caps: 114 England & 5 British & Irish Lions
Leonard is perhaps best remembered as a rotund, jovial Englishman with a large belly and gentlemanly side-parting hair cut.

I wouldn’t deny the accuracy of such a recollection, but I would contend that it undermines his value as a rugby player.

As a young buck Leonard was a streamlined, stubbled, nasty and spiteful beast – never to the extreme, I might add, but he realised what was necessary in the front row.

Despite this, he was the first man to seek his opposite man out following the game, and famously was the lone Englishman to clap the Scots off the pitch following their 2000 Six Nations victory over England.

In playing terms, Leonard was marvellously durable and one of the few props to be able to compete accurately on both sides of the scrum, as we saw during the 1993 Lions tour.

Having been an essential cog in England’s mean machine in the early 1990s one might have allowed Leonard a tantrum or two when he was frequently dropped by Woodward during the noughties. But that was never going to be the case.

The man dubbed the ideal Lions tourist was not known as the ‘Fun Bus’ for no good reason.

Leonard’s final moment of glory came during the 2003 World Cup final when, fed up of being unfairly penalised by Andre Watson, Woodward sent on Leonard to reassure the referee and stabilise the set piece.

George Gregan – (Australia) 139 caps
George Gregan polarises opinion. Regardless, one cannot ignore Gregan’s pedigree.

The latter part of his career was dogged by complaints of politicking and complacency and there is a sustainable argument that Gregan played Test rugby for too long.

But rugby is an experience based sport, so who can blame Jones or Connolly?

I consider it appropriate to remember Gregan’s initial years in the Wallaby jersey. He was, for example, the Australian vice-captain in 1997 and was the obvious choice to take over from Eales in 2001.

Further, as a former amateur Test player and a founding Brumby, he lived a Corinthian rugby life, eventually taking a sojourn in France.

Gregan’s breaking ability may have gradually faded, and the years may have taken their toll and lessened the rage, but class is permanent and the man had the heart of a lion.

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