James Slipper and Rob Simmons have known each other half their lives and on Sunday, the pair will share the stage as Simmons marks a major rugby milestone.
Slipper recalls easily the first time he saw Simmons, getting off a school bus at a junior rugby rep day.
“Initially we were at different schools, both trying to make a rep U15s south coast team and he’s turned up with TSS (The Southport School), off he gets off the bus, he was probably the the height he is now at 15 a big lad,” he said.
“I just remember looking at him and thinking, “Jesus Christ, how are we going to make the team?”
A year later, the pair were playing together at The Southport School, the beginning of a lifelong bond.
The two forwards began their Super Rugby careers together at the Reds and after departing Queensland for different reasons, they ended up as rivals in recent years.
Slipper will go head-to-head with his close friend on Sunday in Simmons’ 150th Super Rugby match, a mark that puts the second rower in illustrious company.
Simmons will become just the fifth Australian to play 150 Super Rugby games and 100 Tests, joining Nathan Sharpe, Stephen Moore, Adam Ashley-Cooper and George Smith to achieve that.
It’s not a mark that Simmons was even really aware of, when asked this week about it.
“You just dream of playing one so really anything after that has been a bonus and that’s how I’ve approached it my whole time,” he said.
“‘I’m on 149 so far so that’s 148 more than I ever thought I’d play after that first one.”
Marking the milestone with Slipper on the other side, though, will make it a little more significant.
“Simmo he’s been one of my best mates since I was 15, he’s just a genuine bloke, he’s from the country tell you how it is, he’s got a beautiful family around him billy and his wife Lucy,” he said.
“I’ve known him and his whole family for a long period of time, someone I can call upon to help support me through tough times I’ve had and just in general life.”
Wallabies defence coach Matt Taylor was the first XV coach at TSS when Simmons came through and recalled his physical dominance from an early stage.
“He commanded the lineout and because he was such a physical specimen in terms of his height, stood out even at first XV level back then,” he said.
“From my point of view he was always going to go on and go on to bigger and better things.
“He was one of those types of players from a young age that was earmarked to do well and he backed that up with how he trained at TSS, how he played, made the Queensland schoolboys, the Australian schoolboys and then from there he went to the Reds academy and within a couple of years he was in the Reds team which won the first Super title.
“I think the great thing about Simmo is not only is he a great player, he's a great person, he's a great father, he's well-respected among his peers.
“I know down at the Waratahs, they really wanted him as captain, his peers, so he stands out in many ways on and off the field if that makes sense.”
After being released by Queensland in 2017, Simmons snapped up the chance to move to NSW and has helped solidify their lineout in recent years.
The second rower often divides public opinion but Taylor said his skill set was a valuable one.
“I think whether you're a coach or whether you're a player, you're always going to get some people that say good things about you, you're going to have some people that say bad things about you or don’t always agree.
“I think someone who's played 100 Tests for their country is a bloody good player.
“Rugby players can be good in all different parts of the game.
“For me, Simmo he's a very, very good lineout technician, he controls that part of the game very well and there's not too many people in world rugby that can command a lineout like he does and he does it really well.”
The Waratahs take on the Brumbies on Sunday March 15 at GIO Stadium, kicking off at 4:05pm AEDT, LIVE on Foxtel, Kayo Sports and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO.
