It's taken 17 years for a second England player to join Jason Leonard in exclusive Test Centurion club - and he's chuffed it's Ben Youngs
Jason Leonard – the first England player to win 100 Test caps – has paid tribute to Leicester scrum-half Ben Youngs who will become only his country’s second player to reach that total on Saturday, insisting the milestone remains a remarkable achievement.
Leonard won his 100th England cap against France at Twickenham in 2003, the year he helped win the World Cup in Australia. In reaching a century of Tests, Leonard had the honour of being enrolled as only the third member of the 100 club 17 years ago, joining Frenchman Philippe Sella (111 caps) and Australian David Campese (101).
England prop Leonard went on to play 114 times for his country before retiring in 2004, while he also featured in five Lions Test matches. However, the increasing number of Test each season has meant that membership of the centurion has ballooned in recent years.
Alun Wyn Jones will win his 140th cap for Wales against Scotland on Saturday, breaking the all-time caps record of All Black Richie McCaw when his nine Lions Test appearances are added.
While the 100 club membership is growing, with more than 60 players now on the list, Leonard is adamant the increased number of matches doesn’t take anything away from Youngs’ achievement, particularly as he has faced stiff competition for the No9 jersey throughout a career that will harvest his 100th cap in Rome against Italy.
An eye-opening observation from the ex-England skipper ?https://t.co/nLE36UooNP
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 1, 2020
Leonard, the current chairman of the British and Irish Lions and previous RFU president, told RugbyPass: “Unless you are inside that rugby circle you do not realise the hard work that goes into achieving 100 caps. As an armchair fan, you see the 80 minutes but not the training sessions, the extra time spent on skills, getting up early doing weights and fitness plus the rehabilitation needed to look after your body.
“To get through that and win 100 caps is a real testament to Ben, who is a fantastic player. I’m so glad for him. There will be a few following him like Owen Farrell (83) while Dylan Hartley (97) got close before injury hit.
“It does come down to a bit of luck with injury and there is always pressure to keep your place because you have to prove yourself as the most experienced player. You have to constantly prove to the coaches you are not there for the ride and deserve selection.
“People get carried away saying there are more games played now but the contact and collisions in Test rugby are far more than in my day and that means you have to look after your body and mind.
“You do get to know your own body and I remember under Clive Woodward the warm-up sessions sometimes became 45 minutes. I told him at 35 I could either do the warm-up or the training! Fair play to Clive. He said: ‘You know your own body’, walked off and let one of the other props come in.”
Leonard also paid tribute to Wales captain Jones who will once again put his body on the line for his nation’s cause against Scotland. “It’s amazing and what a credit he is to his family, friends and his country. He is still one of the premier locks in the world and what a fantastic achievement for him and Wales.”
'Oranges were thrown. We found an empty whiskey bottle had landed on the pitch followed by a pair of scissors. The largest object was a Victorian bath tap.'
30 years on, @JasonLeonard114 recalls a brutal and bloody debut – with @chrisjonespress https://t.co/H5DFa84wYd
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 26, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
I wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to comments