Wallabies’ ageless thoroughbred James Slipper is set for one last gallop as the ultimate team man pulls on the gold jersey for the final time.
Slipper will call time at 151 Tests after the second Bledisloe Cup match at Optus Stadium, bringing his career full circle in Perth, where it began.
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From the outside looking in, it may look like the Queenslander had his eyes set on the 150-cap goal, a mark only held by two others in World Rugby in Sam Whitelock and Alun Wyn Jones.
But that’s fair from the fact, even completely opposite to reality.
To understand the type of guy James Slipper is, all you need to know is how he told his teammates he was retiring.
“He just dropped a message on the chat…He sent out a text saying ‘yeah boys, my last one. Love ya,” fellow prop Allan Alaalatoa revealed.
Simple, to the point, void of any further attention.
That’s what Slipper epitomises, a player who never yearned for the spotlight but found himself in it, such was his class and connection to the team.
“I think what he adds off the field is that he's just very approachable. He's obviously one of the leaders and has been for a number of years,” Alalaatoa said.
“He’s very approachable to some of our younger lads and just a really good, humble bloke. He talks a lot in meetings obviously, because he's most experienced, but then he also gets around the lads. The lads like to take the piss out of him a fair bit, but that's just because they're so comfortable around him.
“He has that good balance of being a good man, getting around you, but then on the field he drives high expectations. I think it's more about what he does on the field that holds that weight off the field.”
The team wore commemorative T-shirts for his 150th game last week, with Slipper donning one himself. It’s a gesture he’s more than earned, but even still, there’d be a part of the prop wanting the team to remain focused on the job at the end.
Even in their captain’s run, Slipper was hesitant about being handed a try in their touch footy game before being almost willed over to the joy of his teammates.
You get the feeling that if the team needed someone to run 100km, the prop would be the first hand up if he thought that’s what the team needed.
He’s the spiritual leader of the Wallabies team, with every player you speak with having nothing but praise for the front-rower.
“My first inclusion in a Wallabies squad here was the first person to ring me up a day or two before us going into the squad and just seeing how I was feeling, asking what I was thinking about, and I wasn't really too sure,” Reds back Josh Flook said.
“He just gave me a little bit of feedback there and just said, ‘mate, just enjoy every moment of it. We're not really sure what to expect, but come in, just get around the boys and you'll love your time.’
“It's just that little small impact that he's had on every one of us.”
Across his career, Slipper has faced more scrums than any other player except for England’s Dan Cole.
The prop has been involved with 1,290 scrums in 5,801 minutes since Opta’s database recorded the stats in 2013. The reality is this number is way higher, given his longevity, with the scrums likely nearly on the 2,000 mark.
But there’s a fair argument to make that this period right now has been his best scrummaging performance under the guidance of Mike Cron.
It’s why even as he calls time, many are calling on him to continue because of just how high his production has been.
“I'd love to own him as a racehorse,” Cron remarked.
“He’d be paying money every week. It might not be a first, but it'd be a third or a fourth for you, because he's consistent. He is so consistent every day.
“He is a true professional. If you want to know what a professional looks like, copy and paste him. He's low maintenance.
“He's dedicated. He's a great team man. He's got no ego. He's trying to get better every day, and I've seen him get better in the two years, 18 months I've been with him.
“I think he's really grown even more and improved, and because of that, I think his work weight around the paddock's increased. He's actually getting around like a 20-year-old now.”
Cron can see a future for Slipper as a forward or scrum coach, but even still, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Slipper slip away into retirement.
Slipper has been replaced at half-time in four of the last five Tests under Schmidt.
While there’d be more reason than ever to play him a couple more minutes in the second half so he gets a standing ovation, you can bet Slipper would be the first man to stop it if he thought it wasn’t best for the team.
The ultimate team man.
