George Smith has John Eales' number as record looms

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10-07-08, 12:12
KenyaQuin

George Smith has John Eales' number as record looms

George Smith has John Eales' number as record looms
Bret Harris | July 10, 2008

THE rare combination of flair and durability will see openside flanker George Smith become Australia's most capped forward when the Wallabies play South Africa in the Tri-Nations Test in Perth on Saturday week.

Smith, who equalled John Eales' record of 86 Test appearances when he came off the bench in the 40-10 win over France in Brisbane last Saturday, is now in the top 10 of the world's most capped forwards.

The only forwards who have played more Tests than Smith are Jason Leonard, Fabien Pelous, Gareth Llewellyn, Raphael Ibanez, Malcolm O'Kelly, Scott Murray, Colin Charvis, Olivier Magne and Sean Fitzpatrick.

"I guess it's a great achievement," Smith said. "It's a nice thing. It's good to be consistent in the way I play at this level.

"That's a thing I've always tried to install in my game is to be consistent in the way I play the game. To reach this number is great, but I want a few more."

A mainstay of the Wallabies since his Test debut against France in 2000, Smith will achieve the milestone because he is...

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10-07-08, 12:18
Moses

"I'm aware the mark of 100 is attainable, but whether it comes to fruition will depend on how well I work in getting myself right for each game."

and whether he can get off the bench with Phil around
10-07-08, 12:46
JediKnight

I still don't believe full caps should be awarded for bench players. Maybe they should get a 0.5 cap for each bench appearance (as long as they get on the field).
10-07-08, 12:54
KenyaQuin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moses

and whether he can get off the bench with Phil around

Mate, its the other way around..Phil is an impact player, thought you would be used to this concept by now.
10-07-08, 13:18
BLR

Quote:

Originally Posted by JediKnight

I still don't believe full caps should be awarded for bench players. Maybe they should get a 0.5 cap for each bench appearance (as long as they get on the field).

Indeed, 'weighting' caps or whatever would be great, getting a full cap when you actually reach 80 minutes would still retain the records of the old players who used to play 100% of the game and not have players like Baxter becoming the most capped prop.