{"id":550223,"date":"2026-03-19T09:04:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T09:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/550223\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T09:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T09:04:12","slug":"how-do-you-celebrate-a-guy-like-brumbies-star-james-slipper-when-he-hates-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/550223\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you celebrate a guy like Brumbies star James Slipper when he hates the spotlight?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Iain<\/p>\n

March 19, 2026 \u2014 4:03pm<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s the sporting equivalent of the age-old Christmas conundrum: what do you get the person who has everything?<\/p>\n

What memento should be presented to Brumbies prop James Slipper after he plays his 203rd Super Rugby game in Canberra this week?<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Slipper wearing the gold cap for becoming the most capped Wallaby in 2024.Getty Images<\/p>\n

That was a subject of conversation at Super Rugby Pacific head office recently, when planning was under way for Slipper\u2019s imminent move to the top of the list for most games. In the Brumbies\u2019 clash with the Chiefs at GIO Stadium on Friday night, the 37-year-old prop will pass New Zealand prop Wyatt Crockett, who played 202 games for the Crusaders between 2006 and 2018.<\/p>\n

The problem is Slipper\u2019s record appearance is the latest in a series of significant milestones in recent years, including \u2013 but not limited to \u2013 his 150th Test<\/a>, becoming the most-capped Wallaby<\/a> in 2024, his 150th Super Rugby game in 2022 and his Wallabies retirement last year<\/a> (although that one may have an asterisk).<\/p>\n

Along with boxes of commemorative T-shirts, each milestone has been accompanied by a week of attention and a post-game presentation to Slipper, be it a special cap, a ball in a glass case, a jersey in a case or even a corner flag in a case.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Slipper being presented with mementoes by Phil Waugh and Daniel Herbert after his becoming the most capped Wallaby in 2024.Getty Images<\/p>\n

So Super Rugby officials wondered what they could present Slipper on Saturday that he hadn\u2019t yet received, probably in multiples. There was some contemplation of a useful item, like the Wests Tigers\u2019 well-intended but ultimately pilloried gift<\/a> of a $1000 barbecue to Luke Brooks, before a silver trophy and commemorative jersey was settled on.<\/p>\n

Crockett knows the routine. He has a similar collection.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah I\u2019ve got a few of those things gathering dust in a storage shed somewhere,\u201d Crockett said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019ve got a few bits and pieces displayed in my garage too; I have bit of a man cave out there. It\u2019s a place for the kids to see them, so that\u2019s pretty cool I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AllanAllan Alaalatoa walking with James Slipper, and wearing a Slipper T-shirt, ahead of Slipper\u2019s 150th Test in 2025.Getty Images<\/p>\n

Though they don\u2019t know each other well, those who know Crockett and Slipper say the record is passing between kindred souls. Crockett is flying in to Canberra to present Slipper with his loot.<\/p>\n

The duo earned global respect as tough, humble and hard-working props: Crockett with the Crusaders and the All Blacks; and Slipper with the Reds, Brumbies and Wallabies. The pair clashed many times in Super Rugby and in Test football, with Crockett mostly enjoying the upper hand in a decade of Kiwi dominance.<\/p>\n

Slipper won a Super Rugby title at the expense of the Crusaders in 2011, but Crockett won three and multiple Bledisloe Cups in one of strongest All Black eras ever. The 43-year-old, who is now a real estate agent in Nelson, only lost three times in 71 Tests as an All Black.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I\u2019ve heard is he\u2019s just a real good bugger, real humble,\u201d Crockett said. \u201cYou don\u2019t see much of him outside of playing footy, does his own thing, and I suppose we are quite similar in that respect. It sounds like he\u2019s a really loved team member and just one of those guys that gets out there and does the business, and you don\u2019t see or hear too much of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WyattWyatt Crockett playing for the Crusaders in 2008.Paul Harris<\/p>\n

And therein lies the irony of Slipper\u2019s increasingly regular moments in the spotlight, and those for Crockett before him. One of the primary drivers of both of their long careers is an attention-spurning, work-focussed personality.<\/p>\n

With each milestone and week dedicated to him, Slipper has fronted media duties with good grace and said while grateful, he\u2019s also keen for the game to be played and the limelight to pass.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh mate, it gets quite awkward actually,\u201d Crockett said. \u201cIt feels like every second week they\u2019re talking about you, and it gets pretty awkward. Especially for myself. I was probably a little bit different to Slips. At the end of my career I was on the bench and I was a part of the team, I was a cog, but in my opinion I wasn\u2019t a critical member. But getting all these accolades, I found it quite awkward and just wish they\u2019d stop talking about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Australia\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

Slipper may not be done yet, either. The 37-year-old is in such good form for the Brumbies, coach Stephen Larkham believes he could still play for the Wallabies, and he\u2019s keen to have Slipper go around again in Super Rugby next year.<\/p>\n

Slipper retired from Test rugby last year on 151 Test caps, the third highest of all time. If he was convinced to come out of retirement for the Wallabies, the record of Wales lock Alun Wyn-Jones is 170 caps.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 19 Tests away, and the Wallabies will play a minimum of 24 Tests in the next two years. The milestone conundrum may not be over just yet.<\/p>\n

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\"IainIain Payten<\/a> is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 19, 2026 \u2014 4:03pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-550223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}