Brumbies co-captain Stephen Moore is set to play his 150th Super Rugby match this weekend when the Brumbies host the Hurricanes in Canberra.
Moore says that while he is honoured to be joining the 150 club he is more focused on winning the Brumbies Super Rugby opener.
The match will take Moore to equal fifth on the all-time Super Rugby caps list alongside former Crusaders hooker Corey Flynn.
The Wallabies hooker will also be just the second Australian in history to reach the milestone
Moore joined the Brumbies in 2009 after playing his first five seasons and 47 games with the Queensland Reds.
He has since made 102 appearances for the Brumbies, becoming one of the clubs most consistent players over the last decade.
In his time with the Brumbies, Moore has taken over the role of Wallabies captain and has been named as the Brumbies 2016 co-captain alongside Christian Lealiifano.
Moore, who has captained the Brumbies 18 times, said it’s an honour that’s crept up on him.
“I think when you start out you don’t think it’s ever going to happen,” Moore said.
“I’ve been really lucky along the way to have relatively few injuries. I’ve had some really good coaches over my time that have helped me to continually improve.
“It makes me feel a bit old but it’s a nice thing. My big focus this weekend is on the team’s performance and obviously our first game this weekend and putting in a good performance.”
The Brumbies will take on the Hurricanes on Friday night in what will be a rematch of last year’s Super Rugby semi-final. The Hurricanes managed to run out winners in that fixture 29-9, ending the Brumbies season.
Moore said the team had put in a big pre-season in order to be ready for the rematch.
“We’ve trained really well,” Moore said on the Brumbies site.
“Physically we’re in good shape as a team, the boys who have done the full pre-season have trained incredibly hard and the guys who have come in from the Wallabies in the New Year have fitted in really well.
“We’re probably ahead of where we were this time last year physically but that only gets you so far, we’ve got to make sure we gel as a team. I’m sure it won’t be perfect on Friday night but we want to play well, particularly in front of our home crowd.”
Moore said the fact that Hurricanes ended the Brumbies season last year didn’t make the game any more or less important.
“I don’t think it matters (that the Hurricanes ended their season last year),” Moore said.
“There’s motivation every week, I don’t think it matters that it’s a particular team or game. We’re at home this weekend and we want to start the season well.
“I like to think that that’s enough motivation for us to play with.”
The 33-year old hooker said he hoped to play in front of a big crowd at GIO Stadium on Friday night.
“It’s a really big game and we’re at home,” Moore said.
“It means a lot to us to play here in Canberra. Hopefully we can get a good crowd out there to support us, it’s a good way to start.”
Moore is now just 13 matches from overtaking Nathan Sharpe as the most-capped Australian Super Rugby player in history. He is also one of just four players to have 100 caps for the Brumbies and 100 caps for the Wallabies (the others are George Smith, George Gregan and Brumbies Head Coach Stephen Larkham).
The current record for Super Rugby caps is held by All Blacks great Kevin Mealamu, who has played 175 matches for the Auckland Blues.
