James Slipper etched his name into Super Rugby history Friday night, becoming the competition’s most-capped player with 203 appearances for the ACT Brumbies against the Chiefs at GIO Stadium. The milestone was celebrated with a thrilling 33-24 comeback victory for the Brumbies, overcoming a significant deficit to defeat the Novel Zealand side.
Slipper, who debuted for the Queensland Reds in 2010, surpassed former All Black Wyatt Crockett’s previous record of 202 caps. The veteran prop, who has too represented the Wallabies 151 times before retiring from international duty last year, was honored before the match with a guard of honour from both teams and a specially designed jersey bearing the number one in gold. He played 53 minutes, contributing five tackles and 12 metres.
Despite the celebratory atmosphere surrounding Slipper’s achievement, the match initially threatened to be overshadowed by the performance of Chiefs playmaker Damian McKenzie. McKenzie scored a try and orchestrated much of his team’s attack, amassing 70 metres and 25 passes, helping the Chiefs build a commanding 17-point lead with just 24 minutes remaining.
Yet, the Brumbies mounted a remarkable resurgence. Captain Ryan Lonergan sparked the comeback with a try, followed by a five-pointer from Charlie Cale, narrowing the gap to just three points. The momentum swung decisively in the Brumbies’ favour, culminating in a length-of-the-field intercept try by Corey Toole in the 79th minute to seal the victory. The try came after McKenzie missed a late penalty attempt that would have regained the lead for the Chiefs.
“The ones where you don’t win and you’ve got a milestone just don’t feel the same,” Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said after the match. “It was great to see the boys play the way they did in that second half.” Larkham highlighted the team’s determination, noting, “Everyone was screaming to run, and then he (Toole) almost got chased down by McKenzie.”
The win provided a measure of retribution for the Brumbies, who were defeated 37-17 by the Chiefs in last year’s Super Rugby Pacific semi-finals. It also halted a two-game losing streak for the Brumbies and prevented them from relinquishing their position at the top of the Super Rugby Pacific ladder.
Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson expressed his frustration with the team’s performance. “I definitely feel like we could have won the game tonight… so we’ve got to be better there,” he said. “We just weren’t able to build enough continuity in our attack.”
The Chiefs had initially taken control of the match with tries from Liam Coombes-Fabling (two tries) in the first half, establishing a 17-7 lead at the break. McKenzie extended their advantage early in the second half before the Brumbies’ dramatic turnaround began.
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