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James Slipper ‘awkward’ about record talk as another Wallaby milestone nears
By Finn Morton
James Slipper will captain Australia on Saturday in what will be the veteran prop’s 136th international appearance in Wallaby gold. Slipper is already among the most decorated Wallabies in history but the 35-year-old isn’t one to focus on individual honours.
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Last week’s skipper Liam Wright has been ruled out of the second Test against Wales with a shoulder injury which has opened the door for ‘Slips’ to lead Australia once again. Slipper has captained the Aussies 14 times and will add another notch to that tally this weekend.
That injury to Wright has been the big talking point this week with ACT Brumbies backrower Charlie Cale coming into the starting side for the first time, and of course, there’s that change in regard to the team’s leadership.
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But stepping away from that narrative for even a moment, it’s nigh on impossible to ignore the greatness Slipper has achieved in Wallaby gold. Former captain George Gregan is the only Wallaby with more Test appearances and that record isn’t too far away.
Gregan played 139 matches from 1994 to 2007, and that was most Test appearances out of any player in the world for quite some time. With Slipper edging closer to that mark, it’s definitely a talking point – not that the man himself wants to bring too much attention to it, though.
“To be fair, I get a little bit awkward around the milestones. It’s not something I’m that comfortable being spoken about a fair bit,” Slipper told reporters down by Melbourne’s Yarra River on Friday.
“For me, it’s more about the team performance. I play rugby to win games of rugby and that’s what I enjoy doing. Sitting in the changeroom after a good performance, I’ll take that over most things.
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“That’s the plan this week and whenever I hang up the boots, I can look back on everything else.”
Slipper will lead the Wallabies into battle this weekend as they look to win back-to-back matches for the first time since 2022. It’s been a fair while for the Aussies but they’ll go into Saturday’s Test at AAMI Park as favourites.
The Wallabies were beaten 40-6 by Wales at last year’s Rugby World Cup in France but put that result behind them with a 25-16 win over Warren Gatland’s team last weekend. Australia will look to wrap up the series 2-nil with another strong performance this weekend.
But a tough challenge will meet them at one of the Melbourne’s iconic sporting venues, with the Welsh looking to snap a losing streak that stretches back to last year’s showpiece event. Wales haven’t won a Test since beating Georgia 43-19 in pool play last October.
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Wales have since lost a quarter-final to Argentina, gone winless during the prestigious Six Nations, and they’ve recently suffered defeats to South Africa at Twickenham and Australia in Sydney. This is their last Test of their season, too.
“Oh they’re a proud nation, a proud rugby nation as well so they’re going to be wanting to get a result and I’m sure they’ve been preparing hard all week and probably picking apart last week’s game, seeing what they can do better and where they can get us – we’ve been doing the same thing,” Slipper explained.
“We’re expecting a pretty tough game down here in Melbourne. Good group, good game, we’re looking forward to it.”
