{"id":331672,"date":"2023-09-17T02:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T02:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=331672"},"modified":"2023-09-17T04:02:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T04:02:33","slug":"why-this-no-fuss-wallabies-prop-is-so-revered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=331672","title":{"rendered":"Why this no fuss Wallabies prop is so revered"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAINT-ETIENNE:<\/strong> James Slipper wanted to retire four years ago and is sheepish about being put in the same category as George Gregan.<\/p>\n

But the beloved Wallabies prop will equal Gregan and Adam Ashley-Cooper as the only Australians to play in four Rugby World Cups<\/a> when he packs down against Fiji in Saint Etienne on Monday (AEST).<\/p>\n

\ufeffSlipper, 34, missed the opening win over Georgia with a foot injury but has recovered just in time to shore up a Wallabies scrum missing specialist tightheads Taniela Tupou, Allan Alaalatoa and Pone Fa'amausili.<\/p>\n

Watch all the action from Rugby World Cup 2023 on the home of rugby, Stan Sport.<\/strong><\/em> Every match ad free, live and on demand in 4K UHD<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

Predominantly a loosehead, Slipper has only worn the gold No.3 jersey \ufefftwice before but typically didn't hesitate to answer the call.<\/p>\n

His vast experience \ufeffsticks out like a sore thumb in a green Wallabies 23 with his 131 Tests more than double that of the next most capped Nic White (64).<\/p>\n

A reflective Slipper told reporters on Saturday that he had once planned to retire at 30 \ufeffand joked "I've gone a bit over time."<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Crowd's beautiful response to star's sickening injury<\/strong><\/a>\ufeff<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Eddie's expansive answer to world rugby 'danger'<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'I'm sorry': Weeping Murray's 'tough' admission<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

He could become the most capped Wallabies player of all time if he continues to get picked in 2024.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Gregan holds the record of 139 for Australia.<\/p>\n

"He (Gregan) is a Wallaby iconic player, a legend of Australian rugby. A little bit inside me doesn't want to break his record, just for that fact – I've got that much respect for him," Slipper said.<\/p>\n

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"I didn't come over here to break records, I really wanted to come here and win the World Cup.<\/p>\n

"I've always wanted to squeeze the sponge with Australian rugby as best as I could and I can live with that. That's been the driver for me, to push on in the Wallabies jersey and try and keep making the squads and the teams.<\/p>\n

"I always find training a bit harder than the games. If I can get through training, I can get through the game."<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

WHAT OTHERS SAID ABOUT JAMES SLIPPER…\ufeff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Eddie Jones:<\/strong> "He's like having a coach on the field. It's a remarkable achievement to play in four World Cups. He started off as a tighthead and then volunteered to go to loosehead, and he's volunteering to go back to tighthead. It's a real testament to his courage, to his resilience, to how much he loves the game. We think on Sunday (local time) he will play a pretty big game for us."<\/p>\n

\"Angus<\/p>\n

Angus Bell: "<\/strong>Slips is one of the legends of rugby and one of the best front rowers Australia has ever had. To play alongside Slips but also have a long relationship with him, Slips helped me a lot through school even before I became a professional.<\/p>\n

"It was like a mentorship role. We had connections with my father prior with him coaching him. He just reached out after I played my schoolboy footy with 'Fruit' (Nick Frost) and he just wanted to mentor me through until I came into the Waratahs and now I'm lucky to play with him.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"Slips is awesome and he'll add a lot of value to the team this week on the other side of the scrum so it'll be awesome for him. We're looking forward to it because he brings a lot of edge to our defence and our maul and set piece."<\/p>\n

\"Eddie<\/p>\n

Blake Schoupp:<\/strong> "He's been massive, not only for me but for every front rower in Australia as well. He's a huge inspiration.<\/p>\n

"Playing in four World Cups and the quality of player he is, we're just lucky to have him in the squad still and me personally, growing up, he's someone I idolised.<\/p>\n

"To be able to rub shoulders with him everyday and go about his business is good enough for me. I don't pester him too much, I just watch what he does at training and try to take as much in as possible. 2010 (when Slipper debuted) I was 12 years old in public school, just watching it on TV with my dad.<\/p>\n

"I don't want to make him feel any older than he already is but yeah, I have mentioned it a couple of times, a couple of running jokes about his age. But he's still playing some of his best footy and that's what's impressive about him.\u00a0 He's a great bloke, obviously very, very experienced, and away from all of this serious stuff, he's very calm and, not quiet, but just goes about his business."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SAINT-ETIENNE: James Slipper wanted to retire four years ago and is sheepish about being put in the same category as George Gregan. But the beloved […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":331677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331672"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=331672"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":331682,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331672\/revisions\/331682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/331677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=331672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=331672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=331672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}