David Campese was the second player to reach 100 Test caps,in 1996,and today there are 96.
Rookie Reds winger Tim Ryan has scored nine tries in seven games and developed cult status as the "Junkyard Dog" in Brisbane.
Until 1997,no cricketer had ever scored 200 in a one-day international. But then Belinda Clark did it and a dozen have since slugged a one-day double-century.
Some clubs have maintained their exclusivity,however,including the small group of players who’ve achieved the rare feat of playing Test rugby for both the Wallabies and the All Blacks.
In the 121 years of Test rugby rivalry,there have been only three men who’ve become ‘Wallablacks’ – Ted Jessep in the 1930s,Des Connor in the 1950s and ’60s,and Owen Stephens in the 1970s. (Two other Wallabies - Bill Hardcastle and Eddie Stapleton - also have All Black numbers from playing in tour matches,but were not capped).
To put the trio into context,that’s as many people who’ve played for both India and Pakistan in cricket,and fewer than the five cricketers who’ve played on both sides of an Ashes contest,but all three point to the intense rivalries that keep the numbers low.
Alex Hodgman in Queensland kit.Supplied
A fourth Wallablack is poised to join the club in July,however,in the shape of Queensland front-rower Alex Hodgman.
Hodgman,a loosehead prop from Auckland who played four Tests for the All Blacks in 2020,was recruited to the Queensland Reds this season and has been in strong form for the Les Kiss-coached side.
Under World Rugby rules,Hodgman is eligible to switch allegiances to the Wallabies,via his Fijian-Australian father and the three years that have elapsed since his last Test.
And all signs point to new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt including the 30-year-old in his first squad for Tests against Wales and Georgia in July.
Of the Wallabies’ loosehead props taken to the Rugby World Cup last year,Angus Bell is out for the season,Blake Schoupp has only just returned from injury,and James Slipper is also battling a calf problem.
Hodgman,who will start in the No.1 jersey for Queensland against NSW in Sydney on Friday,was at the Blues when Schmidt served as defence coach in 2022,and has a high regard for the former Ireland coach. He hasn’t spoken with Schmidt about a potential Wallabies call-up but is open to the switch.
“I am not too fussed about words,I just have to put my actions out to be considered,” Hodgman said.
“There are a lot of good props around. I just have to focus on my work,and if that reward comes then that’s amazing. And if it doesn’t,it’s still amazing because I can hopefully have a go against Wales and Tonga here with the Reds,and I get family time. Either way is a win for me.”
Hodgman played against the Wallabies in three of his four Tests in 2020,coming off the bench in victories in Auckland and Sydney,and a defeat in Brisbane.
Having belted out a fearsome haka in black,how would he feel about facing one while wearing a gold jersey?
“I don’t know how I would react,to be honest,” Hodgman said.
“Because I know how much it means,being an ex-All Black. To be honest,I have no idea what it would be like to witness that. But I know when I got to do it for the first time I just felt powerful and strong,and that guys around me felt the exact same thing. But I am not looking that far ahead.”
After 65 caps for the Blues,and a Trans-Tasman title in 2020,Hodgman considered retirement after missing most of 2023 with a shoulder injury.
But he opted instead for a change of scenery in Brisbane,where he had spent time while sidelined with family who live in Queensland. While it wasn’t a primary motivator,the option to pursue more exposure to Test rugby was a sweetener.
Alex Hodgman getting ready for a scrum against the Wallabies in 2020.Getty
“To be honest,I just want to keep pushing myself as a player. After making the All Blacks,I missed out the next year and when this opportunity came for the Reds,I thought:‘Why not?’” Hodgman said.
“My whole family has now moved over,we are all pretty much neighbours.
“I have always been confident in my ability. If you go and work hard,that’s the first step. I wasn’t too sure about the coaching and the system[in Australia] but I thought,well,effort will get me through.
“But when I got to meet the group,I was like ‘these guys are awesome’. I have learned so much and for sure it has been a really good move coming over here.”
While Queensland have Hodgman and Fijian Test player Pene Ravai as their looseheads,the injury-plagued Waratahs have called in ex-Waratahs veteran Paddy Ryan to start at prop in their final game of the season at Allianz Stadium.
Ryan,35,was a member of the 2014 premiership Waratahs team and has been playing in the USA and Japan since finishing with NSW in 2018. He also came back for a similar four-game loan stint in 2022 with the Tahs.
“It was great of Paddy to answer the SOS and his experience in the front-row will be invaluable,” Coleman said.
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