Veteran prop James Slipper celebrated his milestone in style when the ACT Brumbies defeated the Waikato-based Chiefs 33-24 on Friday.
He became the most capped Super Rugby player of all time by playing in his 203rd game in Canberra as the Brumbies fought back from 17 points down midway in the second half.
The Brumbies scored three tries in 10 minutes before the flying Corey Toole intercepted the ball and ran the length of the field in the 79th minute to seal the result.
Slipper was replaced in the 52nd minute and left the field to a standing ovation, rugby.com.au reported.
PROP HONOURED
Before the game, Skipper ran out through a guard of honour from both teams.
After the game, the prop was presented with an award by former All Black and Crusader (and another prop) Wyatt Crockett, the man whose record he overtook (202 games) on Friday.
NSW WARATAHS V AUCKLAND BLUES
The Waratahs blew try after try, and a 12-point lead, as they fell to a 35-20 loss to the Blues in Sydney on Saturday.
“We left about six tries out there,” centre Joey Walton said in after-match comments, according to super.rugby.com
NSW’s lead was soon inevitably overtaken as the Blues put on 27 unanswered points for a bonus point win.
“It shows you’ve got to play for 80 minutes of Super Rugby. Two weeks in a row now we’re ahead 60, 65 minutes and then let it go,” Waratahs captain Matt Philip told Stan Sport.
“Brumbies is a huge week for the Tahs so there’ll be a lot of feeling and intensity in the training this week,” he said.
“First, we’ve got to look at that game, look to see where we can get better and where we can learn to close out in those last 20 minutes and then we’ll look to the Brumbies.”
QUEENSLAND REDS VS FIJIAN DRUA
The Reds scored a 21-6 win over the Drua in Lautoka on Saturday for their first win in Fiji.
The Reds led 7-6 but kept the Drua tryless for the game, another record for a visiting team.
Reds captain Harry Wilson was delighted to get the result.
“Obviously, it’s a really tough place to play and the Fijian Drua are a really good team,” he told Sky Pacific.
“To keep them tryless is pretty special. In Jock Campbell’s 100th game for Queensland we really wanted to put in a shift for him and we did.
“I think we’ve improved each week with these four wins on the trot and this performance is our best to date.”
OTHER GAMES
The Wellington-based Hurricanes ran out 50-7 winners over hosts Highlanders in Dunedin on Friday night.
The Hurricanes now lead with 20 points with the Blues second, Brumbies third and Reds fourth.
The Christchurch-based Crusaders thumped the Auckland-based Moana Pasifika at North Harbour on Saturday.
OUR EARLIER STORY: Slipper set to make history
