Centurion Scott Higgerbotham joins elite Queensland honour roll
When Scott Higginbotham runs out against the Jaguares at Suncorp Stadium, the Queensland Reds stalwart will sit alongside some of the greatest names in Australian rugby.
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When Scott Higginbotham was a humble Third XV player at school he never imagined joining the roll call of greats in the 100 Club at the Queensland Reds.
Basketball, swimming, soccer and scouting for the beach with the best waves were greater priorities at The Southport School before he turned himself into a world-class backrower.
At 32, Higginbotham is nearing the end of a fine career but he’ll attack Saturday night’s milestone match with relish against the Jaguares at Suncorp Stadium.
“It’s a pretty special list of blokes previous to me who have reached this milestone,” Higginbotham said.
“I shared so much time with guys like Rob Simmons, James Slipper and Quadey (Cooper) and it’s definitely been a goal of mine to join those really close friends on that list.
“You then take a look around Ballymore and see the names of Paul McLean and Andrew Slack at the ground and have conversations with guys like Tim Horan and Tony Shaw.”
Higginbotham, a 2011 title winner, has added some powerful history of his own at the Reds to sit beside the deeds of that star cluster.
No forward or back has scored more Super Rugby tries (15) at Suncorp Stadium and no member of the pack comes close to his 39 career tries in the competition.
“I certainly didn’t look at rugby as a career path straight out of school,” Higginbotham said.
“I like to think of myself as a passionate Queenslander so to achieve a milestone for my home state I never thought would happen is something to be proud of.”
Higginbotham has been around so long that he had to douse a young teammate who gushed about how good it must feel to play in a maroon Queensland jersey for the first time.
“Higgers” had to inform him that he was around in 2008 when it was standard practice before the switch to red jerseys for nearly a decade.
The 34-Test forward has great admiration for young Reds backrowers Angus Scott-Young, Liam Wright and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto.
He can also look beyond borders to the backrow opponent he rates highest of the current crop: “All Black Ardie Savea.”
“As a fellow backrower, I’m watching a fantastically skilled player who is always involved for the Hurricanes.”
Higginbotham has seen big performances against the Highlanders, Waratahs and Chiefs slip away as narrow losses this year.
“More smarts and experience will get us wins because the effort is always there,” he said.
“It’s also turning the pressure we are applying into points and not feeling the pressure late in games by understanding it’s our opponent feeling it more than we are.”
The Jaguares have more than 1000 Test caps spread across their squad because they are the Argentinian Test side by another name. The Reds have just 116.
It is a formidable challenge on Saturday night but the Reds do match up well with their strong pack and intensity as tacklers as they showed with an 18-7 upset in Buenos Aires last year.
Centre Samu Kerevi will certainly be back for the Reds on Saturday and partner Chris Feauai-Sautia has trained on his sore knee this week.
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