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It's taken 17 years for a second England player to join Jason Leonard in exclusive Test Centurion club - and he's chuffed it's Ben Youngs

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Jason Leonard – the first England player to win 100 Test caps – has paid tribute to Leicester scrum-half Ben Youngs who will become only his country’s second player to reach that total on Saturday, insisting the milestone remains a remarkable achievement.

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Leonard won his 100th England cap against France at Twickenham in 2003, the year he helped win the World Cup in Australia. In reaching a century of Tests, Leonard had the honour of being enrolled as only the third member of the 100 club 17 years ago, joining Frenchman Philippe Sella (111 caps) and Australian David Campese (101).

England prop Leonard went on to play 114 times for his country before retiring in 2004, while he also featured in five Lions Test matches. However, the increasing number of Test each season has meant that membership of the centurion has ballooned in recent years.

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Alun Wyn Jones will win his 140th cap for Wales against Scotland on Saturday, breaking the all-time caps record of All Black Richie McCaw when his nine Lions Test appearances are added.

While the 100 club membership is growing, with more than 60 players now on the list, Leonard is adamant the increased number of matches doesn’t take anything away from Youngs’ achievement, particularly as he has faced stiff competition for the No9 jersey throughout a career that will harvest his 100th cap in Rome against Italy.

Leonard, the current chairman of the British and Irish Lions and previous RFU president, told RugbyPass: “Unless you are inside that rugby circle you do not realise the hard work that goes into achieving 100 caps. As an armchair fan, you see the 80 minutes but not the training sessions, the extra time spent on skills, getting up early doing weights and fitness plus the rehabilitation needed to look after your body.

“To get through that and win 100 caps is a real testament to Ben, who is a fantastic player. I’m so glad for him. There will be a few following him like Owen Farrell (83) while Dylan Hartley (97) got close before injury hit. 

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“It does come down to a bit of luck with injury and there is always pressure to keep your place because you have to prove yourself as the most experienced player. You have to constantly prove to the coaches you are not there for the ride and deserve selection.

“People get carried away saying there are more games played now but the contact and collisions in Test rugby are far more than in my day and that means you have to look after your body and mind. 

“You do get to know your own body and I remember under Clive Woodward the warm-up sessions sometimes became 45 minutes. I told him at 35 I could either do the warm-up or the training! Fair play to Clive. He said: ‘You know your own body’, walked off and let one of the other props come in.”

Leonard also paid tribute to Wales captain Jones who will once again put his body on the line for his nation’s cause against Scotland. “It’s amazing and what a credit he is to his family, friends and his country. He is still one of the premier locks in the world and what a fantastic achievement for him and Wales.”

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AM 37 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

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