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George Smith has John Eales' number as record looms
Bret Harris | July 10, 2008
THE rare combination of flair and durability will see openside flanker George Smith become Australia's most capped forward when the Wallabies play South Africa in the Tri-Nations Test in Perth on Saturday week.
Smith, who equalled John Eales' record of 86 Test appearances when he came off the bench in the 40-10 win over France in Brisbane last Saturday, is now in the top 10 of the world's most capped forwards.
The only forwards who have played more Tests than Smith are Jason Leonard, Fabien Pelous, Gareth Llewellyn, Raphael Ibanez, Malcolm O'Kelly, Scott Murray, Colin Charvis, Olivier Magne and Sean Fitzpatrick.
"I guess it's a great achievement," Smith said. "It's a nice thing. It's good to be consistent in the way I play at this level.
"That's a thing I've always tried to install in my game is to be consistent in the way I play the game. To reach this number is great, but I want a few more."
A mainstay of the Wallabies since his Test debut against France in 2000, Smith will achieve the milestone because he is...
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