James Slipper dislikes all of this.
For a prop that defines himself on humility and team-first, being centre stage and the focus is as uncomfortable as most people feel packing their heads into scrums.
Watch every second of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season live and on demand via Stan Sport.
But Slipper is learning to enjoy the honours and celebrations as he etches his name in history once again.
The prop will break the record for most Super Rugby appearances on Friday when he runs out for his 203rd game, named to start for the ACT Brumbies against the Chiefs in Canberra.
He goes past the record set by fellow front-rower Wyatt Crockett, who will be in attendance to officially pass the baton.
It comes less than 12 months after becoming the first Australian to 150 Test caps, one of three men to do so, and he needs just one more game to become the first player in Super Rugby to play 100 games for two separate clubs.
As the milestones have rolled in, his teammates have rightfully been the ones leading the way to the joking dismay of Slipper, who remains focused on trying to stop the Chiefs.
“I'm sure they'll spend most of the next couple of days rubbing it in, but yeah, I'm probably more excited just to get out there and play now,” Slipper said on his teammates.
“There's been a lot of talk around it, which is great, and I'm really proud of the achievement, but I'd love nothing more than to get a good result.”
The measure of Slipper’s longevity is best reflected by looking at who played in his first game on February 13, 2010.
Debuting for the Queensland Reds in a 30-28 loss to the NSW Waratahs, there’s a plethora of teammates and opponents that have forged separate careers in between his 203-game stint.
On the Reds, replacement flyhalf Tim Walsh has coached Australia to Olympic gold in the Rugby Sevens, centre Morgan Turinui is a well-renowned commentator and Classic Wallabies President, while hooker Sean Hardman was just named QRU President.
In the opposition, flanker Phil Waugh is the most powerful man in Australian Rugby as CEO, donning the slippers to celebrate the great prop, with replacement back-rower Ben Mowen coaching Slipper in his twilight as the Brumbies.
Coach Stephen Larkham was still playing professional Rugby in Japan when the fresh-faced Slipper debuted 5,878 days ago. Even Friday's referee, Nic Berry, was still kicking about in England as a player.
“You mean when I was playing because he's that old?” Larkham joked when asked about his first Slipper memories.
“He was pretty much into the Wallabies from the get-go, from what I remember. I certainly would have been watching him back then, but didn't really appreciate who he was or how good he was until he came down to the Brumbies and showed all the skills of a flyhalf, which he'll tell you every day of the week, but backs it up with some of the tough stuff that's required in the forwards."
Remarkable there is one player still active, Waratahs centre Kurtley Beale, but even that is a great showcase of just how special Slipper’s record is.
Beale sits close to 30 games behind Slipper in the all-time mark, heading overseas after issues at the Melbourne Rebels, a fate that looked to be Slipper’s future after his cocaine bain before moving to the nation’s capital.
NSW Waratahs coach Dan McKellar was the man to convince Slipper to join the Brumbies in 2018.
A simple pitch at a Canberra Centre food court was all that was needed to bring the prop to the nation’s capital to revive his career.
“I sold him two things: That he’d enjoy Canberra and that he and Scott Sio could play on the same team together and lengthen both of their careers, and as it turns out, it’s worked out pretty well for Slips,” McKellar said.
“He’s just a good bloke, love being in his company. What I've seen him put his body through over the years and front up week on week on week on week, my respect and admiration for him is through the roof. Wyatt (Crockett) held that record for a long time and hopefully Slips does the same but he's not only playing his 203rd Super Rugby game when he's played over 150 Test matches, but he continues to play very, very well.
"It seems like every week there's a James Slipper milestone, and I sent him that message, but it's nice for him to get the recognition that he probably doesn't love, but he certainly deserves.”
“I remember distinctly chatting with Dan McKellar at the time, and he convinced me that Canberra was a beautiful place to come live and move down to, and I laughed at him at the time,” Slipper responded.
“But to be fair to him, I've fallen in love with Canberra ever since. It’s my eighth year here at the Brummies and I've loved every year of it…The rugby people in Canberra are really special and I've just thoroughly enjoyed my time here.”
It’s his toughness that stands out for McKellar, the ultimate hardman of Rugby, who would do anything if it meant the team got an inch of good fortune.
“I remember we played Scotland on a Sunday at Murrayfield and Taniela (Tupou) got knocked out, Allan (Alaalatoa) got knocked out and Slips moved from loosehead to tighthead,” McKellar recalled. "He busted his elbow and had a knee issue already going into the game and basically played 80 minutes. Six days later, [he] fronted up at Twickenham against England at tight head prop and didn't complain.
“I just remember sitting back at the time, just thinking he's a special footballer and a special human being. He didn't want there to be a song and dance or anything about it, but he just went about his work.
“It’s just the hardness and the toughness, not just the physical toughness, but the mental toughness to be able to front up and do that, play well over 350 games at this level as a front roller. You tip your hat to him.”
Slipper will go past the record with no real sign of slowing down as the loosehead continues to perform at a world-class level.
“The hardest thing is probably keeping him out of sessions,” Larkham said.
“Obviously, 203 games, he knows what the best preparation is and he's been living by that for a fair while now. He wants to make sure that the training intensity is where it needs to be for his preparation, but he also doesn't want to share the reps with anyone else, which is sometimes good for him, detrimental to other players because they don't get the reps, and then sometimes detrimental to him as well because he'll push through when he's got a bit of pain.”
Even with the pain, Slipper is still loving life in the nation’s capital and remains open to playing beyond 2026.
“In the background, I've thought about it. I physically think I can keep going,” Slipper said.
“I'm not sure about the conversations, nor do I expect them to be happening at this stage of the season. There are probably a fair few other players they need to secure before they start securing a 37-year-old.
“So when my time comes, we'll make a decision on that and we'll see if I roll around again.”
When he does call it quits, it’ll likely be as inconspicuous as possible as Slipper tries to dodge the spotlight one more time.
For now, Slipper must soak it all in, because after all, no one has deserved it more.
