Impressive

[u/nomamesgueyz]

[u/HenkCamp]

Impressive but looking at AWJ and Whitelock blows my mind!

[u/Toirdusau → u/HenkCamp]

Ridiculous.

Put together the 6N, July and November tests a Welsh player can play max 10-12 tests / year.

Maybe the rwc years and lions tour help pushing it to 15 every other years? Still to get to 170 is outrageous

[u/Welshpoolfan → u/Toirdusau]

The lions would replace the July tests for a player so it doesn't really add anything. The world cup adds 1-4 games depending on how well you do.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Cry1548 → u/Welshpoolfan]

Only 1-3 games no?

[u/Welshpoolfan → u/Puzzleheaded-Cry1548]

It depends I guess. If you normally have 3 autumn tests, then the world cup heads 1 game in the group stage and 3 potential extra games if you get out of the group.

If you have 4 autumn games as standard (Wales have done for a long time) then it would be 1-3 potential extra games.

[u/Toirdusau → u/Welshpoolfan]

I wasn't sure if they count all the warm up tests from the lions

[u/Welshpoolfan → u/Toirdusau]

I think for cap purposes it is just test matches as part of the series

[u/Prussianballofbest → u/HenkCamp]

Yeah, but Slipper ist still active, isnt he?

[u/gonltruck → u/Prussianballofbest]

As is Barrett

[u/HenkCamp → u/gonltruck]

BB can likely get close to AWJ if he gets selected purely on merit. I can’t see anyone coming up that will be better than him in the next three years.

[u/gonltruck → u/HenkCamp]

Richie Mounga would like a word.

I still think we’ll see BB in the team somewhere until 2027

[u/HenkCamp → u/gonltruck]

He is versatile enough to play almost anywhere at the back. Obviously at a higher level, but I can’t see him play a Willie le Roux role when he hits 37 - coming on to call things down and close out the game or even start a new wave.

[u/k0bra3eak → u/Prussianballofbest]

He is

[u/redmostofit → u/HenkCamp]

What's crazy is that Whitelock was still a world class player in those last tests. Same for Richie. Whitelock and Richie.

[u/HenkCamp → u/redmostofit]

That is part of their greatness for me. Whitelock was still a beast. Richie was - for me - still the best loose forward in the game. Either of them could’ve gone on for a few more years. I think they both could’ve gone feel how much it took to simply get there every season as they are such fine tuned machines. I think Whitelock at that age was almost pure willpower to still play at the level.

[u/Ok_Educator_2120 → u/HenkCamp]

Clutchest turn over in that 1/4 final vs Ireland by Whitelock. Still had it when he left for sure

[u/amplebooty → u/redmostofit]

Would agree with Ritchie. Not too sure about Whitelock. I vaguely recall the Whitelock/Retallick combo not feeling anywhere near as threatening post 2019 as they were prior.

[u/nomamesgueyz]

He must be the closest to joining the very rare 100test wins group. A very select group from only one country so far

[u/Initial-Apartment-92 → u/nomamesgueyz]

Not as select group as 100 test loses!

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/Initial-Apartment-92]

Surely no one's done that? Italian guy must be the closest

[u/dt19992 → u/nomamesgueyz]

Wdym Italian guy?!? That’s Sergio Parisse ffs

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/dt19992]

Knew that would trigger someone 😆

[u/mossy1989136 → u/nomamesgueyz]

Italian guy 😂😂 🤦that's either the most arrogant or most newbie comment ive ever heard.

And considerin you comment here a lot I'm gonna go with the former

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/mossy1989136]

Couldn't recall his name

You can allow that to annoy you if you want

Good player ...I never saw Italian games unless playing ABs

[u/Gothmog89 → u/nomamesgueyz]

It’s only written on the picture at the top of the thread. Not like it was easy to find

[u/_bort_simpson_ → u/nomamesgueyz]

Yeah tuning in to watch a guy notch his hundredth test loss isn’t exactly prime viewing imo

[u/WinstonSEightyFour → u/_bort_simpson_]

All of these guys can be described as “servants of the game”, but that doesn’t just mean “won lots of games”, it’s about putting your heart into every game and bleeding your colours whether it’s your hundredth win or your hundredth loss.

[u/Initial-Apartment-92 → u/nomamesgueyz]

106 of the 142

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/Initial-Apartment-92]

Damn

That won't be beaten

[u/Careless-Cat3327 → u/nomamesgueyz]

Give the Welsh guys a few more years.

[u/k0bra3eak → u/nomamesgueyz]

2715 wins needed, might be a bit off before retirement

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/k0bra3eak]

Will be a big ask

[u/Calvin0213 → u/k0bra3eak]

Wikipedia says 85 test wins for him? So only 15, which is very doable.

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/Calvin0213]

Ohh yes that's very doable. 27 would be a huge ask, but 15 I think he may well be the first non kiwi to notch 100test wins

Very impressive

[u/WinstonSEightyFour → u/nomamesgueyz]

How the fuck is Eben only 33 years old?

[u/EffektieweEffie → u/WinstonSEightyFour]

It's funny looking back at his first tests, a monster with a baby face. Or a young Bruno, luckily he outgrew that somewhat now.

[u/PistachiosAndGouda → u/k0bra3eak]

Wikipedia says he has 85 career Bok wins which would mean 15 to go. I'm no authority but the wiki stat sounds right to me. 85 wins / 135 caps is a 63% win rate.

Hope it is indeed 15, in that case he has a pretty good chance to get there.

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/PistachiosAndGouda]

Odds on hell get that..boks will keep winning and him not getting too injured

[u/k0bra3eak → u/PistachiosAndGouda]

Checked all rugby for the stats, but they seem to be wrong then

[u/MenlaOfTheBody → u/k0bra3eak]

He's only 33. He's got another RWC in him. I think he'll get there.

Edit: obviously barring injury

[u/k0bra3eak → u/MenlaOfTheBody]

Might be limited in caps to get him there in one piece though

[u/MenlaOfTheBody → u/k0bra3eak]

Would his club playing time not be more limited than his international play on that basis?

Again he's 33 not 36/7 and the RWC is 2027. Pretty sure he'll still be full tilt until 35. He's showing no signs of slowing down currently and IMO is still playing like a Top 3 lock in the world.

[u/vote-morepork → u/nomamesgueyz]

McCaw fell just short of 100 wins as captain on 98. I doubt anyone will ever exceed that

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/vote-morepork]

No one will ever get even close to that

I wouldn't imagine anyone even on 75 wins as captain

[u/Kellers822]

A lot of forwards in that list, despite the intense physicality those positions demand

[u/k0bra3eak → u/Kellers822]

Backs have the unfortunate issue of pace that cuts careers short, usually why it's only flyhalfs who last longer

[u/SchoonerOclock → u/k0bra3eak]

Or wingers that become centres.

[u/mango_yoghurt → u/Kellers822]

It makes sense tbh. Strength is less likely to wane with age whereas pace and agility definitely are.

Their bodies are likely battered now though.

[u/Kellers822 → u/mango_yoghurt]

Yeah that’s true actually, I moved from 13 to 7 at 32yo and carried on playing til 40. Wish I’d always been a 7, bloody loved it

[u/lankyno8 → u/Kellers822]

Generally you can get away eith it when your pace drops though a bit easier

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/Kellers822]

I'd be interested to see how their bodies have held up at 40 and 50 years of age

That's alot of impact over along time

[u/No_Eye_8432 → u/nomamesgueyz]

A lot of Welsh international players live around the Pontcanna area of Cardiff. I’ve been sat plenty of times in various coffee shops and seen recent former players get up only to see them move like old men! Except for JD2 for some reason

[u/GROUND45 → u/Kellers822]

Strength and durability lasts longer than speed.

[u/JapaneseJohnnyVegas]

Surprised healy never got a lions cap. Presume injuries played some role but who were the props keeping him out? 

[u/dwaynepebblejohnson3 → u/JapaneseJohnnyVegas]

Injuries. He got injured in the warmups in 2013.

[u/mango_yoghurt → u/JapaneseJohnnyVegas]

Jack McGrath went on the 2017 tour (which seems a bit bizarre now). Iirc Healy had a patch of form afterwards and reclaimed the Ireland starting position

[u/Kellers822 → u/JapaneseJohnnyVegas]

Genge and Cole 🤣🤣

[u/dwaynepebblejohnson3 → u/Kellers822]

Cole played the other side of the scrum and Genge only made his first tour this year.

[u/Kellers822 → u/dwaynepebblejohnson3]

I was joking hence the 🤣🤣

[u/setorict]

170?? bro could've been a duocenturion! holy

[u/CustodianAthiair → u/setorict]

If he'd gone to the world cup. He probably gets 5 more.

What's mental is the fact he got 170 here and 257 for the Ospreys. If you add Toulon it's 425+ games of top level rugby.

[u/GeBoudes]

Tbf he hardly plays club rugby

[u/joaofig → u/GeBoudes]

Yup, only makes Parise's stat even more insane. The guy spent his hole career in the Top14

[u/AlexiusRex → u/joaofig]

More than 500 senior matches, AWJ is around 450, McCaw at 300, Sergio was really something else, a tragedy he couldn't get his swan song with Italy

[u/joaofig → u/AlexiusRex]

These graphics are meaningless without club rugby. For instance, Sexton got a huge career extension by playing for Leinster.

[u/_dictatorish_ → u/AlexiusRex]

For comparision, Eben is at 140 club games + 135 internationals, so 275 total

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/joaofig]

Damn

Impressive. That's alot of intense impact on the body

[u/errlloyd → u/joaofig]

Did something happen at the end of Parisses career with Italy? He seemed to want to play on, but he wasn't picked. His last game for Italy was a full four years before his last for Toulon

[u/AlexiusRex → u/errlloyd]

He wanted to retire after the 2019 RWC, but the New Zealand match was canceled cause of the typhoon, then Covid hit and couldn't play in Rome, didn't want to impose himself to participate in the 2021 6N but wasn't picked

[u/CoryTrevor-NS]

Parisse played his last match with Italy in 2019, but continued to play (often as a starter) in the Top14 until 2023.

I understand that the new coaches and management probably wanted to build the future cycles on younger players, but Sergio never deserved to get banished like that. I feel like he could have still been useful at certain points in time.

They teased his comeback back in 2021 or 22 but nothing came from that (although this specific time it was his own decision). And eventually retired from the game without even a farewell appearance.

[u/SilverShadow213 → u/CoryTrevor-NS]

I’ll never forgive Crowley for not calling him in the group for the 2023 RWC

[u/Brendon1990]

Would be interesting to see how long he can extend his career by primarily coming off the bench, like he did this weekend.

[u/edroyque]

100 tests is wild. 100 tests in the scrum is even wilder to me. The physical demands and destruction on your body are insane

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/edroyque]

Joints and fascia must be wrecked

[u/Perfectgame1919]

What do we think, will he break AWJ record? If he’s impacting off the bench for 2 years into the WC, he’s gotta be in with a shot?

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/Perfectgame1919]

I don't think so

150 yes

And breaking 100test wins I think he's odds for too

[u/Puzzleheaded-Cry1548 → u/Perfectgame1919]

Him and BB will surely come close if they both make it to the end of RWC 27, they might finish 2nd and 3rd for test caps.

I reckon EE hits 100 test wins end of 2026 or start of 2027.

[u/vote-morepork → u/Puzzleheaded-Cry1548]

NZ typically play 13-14 tests per year. If BB misses 2 per year due to injury/rotation and 1 of the remaining 8 this year, he would play 29-31 more and end on 167-169, so there's a chance of BB topping the list, but he will probably end up just shy.

[u/CustodianAthiair]

For the record Alun Wyn Jones also played over 250 games at top pro level as well.

Man was something else.

[u/Montmontagne]

Wild there is the potential to surpass Wyn-Jones.

[u/nomamesgueyz → u/Montmontagne]

Id predict he'll retire after next world cup and his load managed until then

[u/Montmontagne → u/nomamesgueyz]

You’re right but reckon he’ll finish number two

[u/everybodywangchung → u/Montmontagne]

Surely Beuden Barret or James Slipper are likely to finish ahead of him. They're also still playing and don't have a rotation policy.

Although slipper is 36 so most likely to retire before the RWC.

[u/scranson19981998]

surprised there hasn’t been a mention of Slipper, especially considering he’ll move past McCaw in his next test. bloke is an absolute warrior.

[u/Ok_Educator_2120]

Man 170 is insane

[u/warcomet]

Slipper's too injury prone nowadays, if he gets 10 more caps, he will be lucky, the wallabies need to manage him...that said i can see him cross 160, thats it..Beaudy very likely will finish at 145-155 caps and Eben somewhere between 155-165...i see neither overtaking AWJ

[u/Horatio_Finglebry]

Slipper should be second by the time he retires.

[u/BritinTEXAS11]

A player I initially ‘hated’ because he was such a thorn in the side, but over time, and especially now he’s in the autumn of his career, I have an almighty amount of admiration and even affection for. A genuine titan of the game.

[u/22dias]

I feel like Eztebeth has been around longer than God. He's an absolute stalwart for the Boks.

Beaudy will break Whitelocks record - provided he is fit, he'll be in Brisbane 2027. Between now and then there's at least 20+ tests.

[u/Ok_Educator_2120 → u/22dias]

I wonder if he'll be playing every test tho

[u/Walt1234]

He's suddenly playing as if he's not got a massive international career left ahead of him. Given the South African forward player depth, I doubt he'll be troubling Alun Wynn's numbers.

[u/exportedkiwi]

Beast!

[u/vote-morepork]

BB should be at 138 if this is correct: https://stats.allblacks.com/all-players/profile/Beauden-Barrett-AB-1115

[u/standarsh1965]

Lions shouldn't count as international games played

[u/SEND-MARS-ROVER-PICS → u/standarsh1965]

Only if games against the Lions don't count either

[u/standarsh1965 → u/SEND-MARS-ROVER-PICS]

Would agree with that too

[u/CustodianAthiair → u/standarsh1965]

Wrong.

[u/standarsh1965 → u/CustodianAthiair]

It's called an opinion

[u/FakeMessiah94 → u/standarsh1965]

Opinions can be wrong.