Golden Slipper relieved to get cap milestone out of the way

Growing up on the Gold Coast, James Slipper was inspired to start playing rugby after watching Wallabies legends like halfback George Gregan taking on the best in the world and so often coming out on top.

By his own admission, Slipper was just happy to represent Australia, and left crazy dreams – like surpassing Gregan’s record as the most-capped Wallaby – for others. But in making his 140th international appearance, against New Zealand on Saturday in a thrilling three-point loss, Slipper had done just that.

Gregan, who was in attendance at Accor Stadium, presented Slipper with a bottle of wine specially selected from the 2010 vintage, the year he made his Wallabies debut, while the 35-year-old received a guard of honour from the All Blacks after the game to honour his achievement.

Despite his pride in the milestone, Slipper admitted he would be relieved to return to normal business next week in the return fixture against New Zealand in Wellington. As a prop, he is used to going about his work with a minimum of fuss.

“I’m looking forward to it, to be honest,” Slipper said. “I always get asked about it, how you feeling about it, you know, overtaking ‘Greegs’, and it’s always been a bit weird for me.

“I don’t like being the centre of attention, and the boys make it about me, so I’m looking forward to moving on now and ideally get a result next week.”

James Slipper being clapped off the field by New ZealandCredit: AP

The esteem in which Slipper is held by the Wallabies is clear. Not only did the players get novelty, vintage-style T-shirts made with Slipper’s face on them to commemorate his 140th cap, but coach Joe Schmidt also wore one to the captain’s run on the Friday before the match with pressure at its highest.

Although Slipper didn’t enjoy the spotlight, it did provide valuable distraction for his teammates, who were shattered after the record 40-point defeat against Argentina in Santa Fe.

Slipper had made a point of making himself available to younger players who were feeling the strain of defeat alongside other senior leaders and ensured that they remembered the progress the team was making.

“I feel like all the work we’d done up until that point was reasonably positive until that second half [In Santa Fe], Slipper said. “As a young player, in particular, you can really get bogged down in a really poor performance when
you can kind of flush it and move on.

James Slipper being congratulated on his 140th cap by George Gregan, the man he surpassedCredit: AP

“What I was trying to push was just, there’s been a lot of positive work we’ve done throughout the year and don’t lose sight of that.”

After coming on as a replacement in the 49th minute for Angus Bell, Slipper helped the Wallabies mount an improbable comeback that gave 68,061 fans in the stadium a Test match to remember.

Slipper is seeing slow but positive progress for the Wallabies and is keen to repay the support shown by the fans who have been on the long and often difficult journey with the team.

“We understand as a playing group where the Wallabies have been positioned really with our results and our performances over the last decade and we understand that,” Slipper said. “We were working so hard as a group to get more positivity in our results for the fans...they packed out a big stadium today. They’ve been awesome every home game this year. We really do count on them.”

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