Matt Dunning will join a select group of elite players when he records his 100th Super Rugby appearance in the Western Force clash against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday night.
Dunning’s career has spanned a decade with 90 appearances for the Tahs before transferring across to the Force for the 2010 season. The big prop, known as Tuck to team mates, has long been a mainstay of the Wallabies front row and along the way secured 43 caps for his country.
"You don’t really look at those things (milestone matches) when you start but I guess it has been good to have that longevity, that is something I’m proud of," said Dunning.
"After injuries limited my time on the field in 2007 and 2008 plus the whole year gone in 2009 I guess I’ve been close for a while so it’ll be nice to finally get there."
Dunning will start on the reserves bench in Saturday’s match against the Cheetahs as part of the club’s rotation on tour however Coach John Mitchell will be keen to give the 32 year old some game time to secure the milestone.
"It’s a huge cap. We’ll have to, at some stage, get him on the pitch," Mitchell said.
"He’ll come on at some stage. It will come down to how Timmy (Fairbrother) plays during the match."
Dunning will become just the 15th Australian player, and 36th overall in Super Rugby, to achieve 100 appearances, joining the likes of retired great George Gregan and current stars including Western Force skipper Nathan Sharpe.
Despite a life of tough grind in the front row Dunning has shown he still has plenty to offer club and country, receiving the Force Players’ Player award in their round 12 win against the Lions in Johannesburg.
"I think anyone over 30 that has played a lot of games has bumps and bruises and sore joints and I’m not any different. To play almost 70 minutes last week is something I haven’t done for a while in Super 14 rugby and I enjoyed that," said Dunning.
"If I can help the team and add value while also enjoying my football then I’ll keep playing."
Dunning has an option for an additional year at the Western Force and will decide his playing future after returning from the season ending three match tour of South Africa.
"I’ve had a great time at the Western Force, the people are wonderful, the club has been fantastic and I’m really enjoying it. The only tough part about me playing in WA is that my family is in Sydney, that’s the only issue I need to resolve in the next few weeks," Dunning said.
"We’ve all got bosses and they’re called wives," he said with a smile.
"I’ve got until June 1 to make the decision and I don’t like doing that sort of stuff while I’m playing. Everything is in front of me and I’ll wait until after the season and weigh up the best decision for the family, but as I said the Force have been fantastic and I’m really enjoying the club."
Dunning is set to be joined by two of his Super 14 peers in cracking the century this weekend with the Hurricanes Rodney So’oialo and Bulls Danie Rossouw also in sight of the special mark.
Australia currently has the most Super Rugby centurions with Dunning set to become the 15 player to reach a ton, New Zealand will record their 12th this weekend while South Africa has nine.
Sharpe is the most capped current player and is only six matches away from breaking the Super Rugby record held by Gregan.
100+ Super Rugby Appearances – Australia
Name - Games (*current players)
George Gregan 136
Nathan Sharpe 130*
Stirling Mortlock 123*
George Smith 120*
Phil Waugh 120*
Sean Hardman 117*
Stephen Larkham 116
Jeremy Paul 112
Chris Latham 109
Chris Whitaker 107
Brendan Cannon 106
Al Baxter 103*
David Lyons 100
Bill Young 100
**Stats provided by ARU
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