Ask any Super Rugby player and they’ll tell you, the opportunity to pull on a provincial jersey and represent their friends, family and state is a special one.
For Stephen Hoiles and Scott Higginbotham though, the chance to run out this weekend in round seven of the 2015 Super Rugby competition will be particularly special.
The two stalwarts of Australian Rugby are in line to make their 100th Super Rugby appearance this weekend, and while their paths to a centenary of games could not have been more different, they are both just as impressive.
If and when the time comes for Hoiles to make his way on to the field at the Tahs’ home ground of Allianz Stadium against the Blues this Saturday, it will mark yet another amazing feat in what has been one of the most remarkable rugby journeys.
Making his Super Rugby debut over ten years ago against the Crusaders, not enough could be said about Hoilesy’s chance to experience the Waratahs’ first ever Super Rugby Championship title win last year against the formidable Canterbury force from across the ditch.
It’s been a wild ride since his first Super Rugby game in 2004, the same year Hoiles became Wallaby number 793. From his initial year to 2006 he played 26 games for NSW ahead of a move to the Nation’s Capital where he racked up 48 caps with the Brums.
Producing the type of form that saw him become a Wallabies’ regular, it was only a matter of time before the bleach-blonde surfer boy from Coogee was rewarded with the Brumbies’ captaincy.
His time down in Canberra would ultimately be cut short though, and his career put on hold, as a mysterious achilles tendon injury plagued his body and baffled surgeons. After several operations and rehab stints, it was a situation where many would have hung up the boots and retired.
But Hoiles decided to take the matter into his own hands, and after 11 flights in 11 days, landed in Sweden in a last ditch bid to resurrect his career.
It was here that Hoiles met with Dr Hakan Alfredson, a man regarded as one of the best tendon surgeons in the world. And, after undergoing his third surgery in three years, there was a glimmer of hope.
Hoiles returned to rugby playing for his home club, Randwick in late 2013, running out on to Coogee Oval in front of what couldn’t have been more than 100 people. It took just two appearances for the Wicks in the Shute Shield before Hoiles found himself back training with the Tahs.
He made a comeback after one of the longest, and most frustrating, gaps between caps for any player in recent history, eight years.
For a modest and mild-mannered individual, the veteran back-rower has seemingly seen more than his fair share of miracles and milestones in his rugby career. It was just a few weeks ago that he was celebrating his 50th Cap for the Waratahs.
He has been named on the bench to face the Blues this Saturday, but Hoiles has revelled in his role as an impact player, with Coach Michael Cheika usually unleashing the experienced backrower with around 20 minutes to play. The 33-year-old is still showing he’s just as capable of scoring tries too with his latest against the Melbourne Rebels in round two this year.
Another backrower who will hit the triple figures this weekend is Melbourne Rebels’ Captain Scott Higginbotham.
Higgers made his Super Rugby debut for the Reds seven years ago in 2008, becoming a regular for the Club in just his second season. He amassed 65 caps for Queensland, which included the side’s 2011 Super Rugby Championship year.
His international Test debut came in 2010 for the Wallabies, even though he is eligible to play for Fiji with his mother born there.
Higginbotham joined the Rebels ahead of the 2013 season where his influence on the young team has been acknowledged from the outset, voted by peers as the Rebels’ Players’ Player after just his first term with the Club.
Despite missing out on the once in 12 year British and Irish Lions Tour that year with a badly dislocated shoulder, Higginbotham’s skill and determination has seen him become a regular in Wallaby camp as a strong and reliable asset in the no. 8 jersey.
From a relatively underrated player, Higgers has since stepped up in fine form, emerging as Melbourne’s outspoken and passionate role model of a Captain.
As one of the top-scoring forwards in Super Rugby history, the 28-year-old is just a couple of tries away from reaching another milestone as the tournament’s highest try-scoring forward in its history.
Gifted with some serious speed and athleticism that have no business belonging to a man of his size, it’s no wonder that opposition defenders have so much trouble stopping him.
A fierce competitor on the field who never shies away from confrontation, Higgers is ironically just the opposite off it. Born in Perth but raised on the beaches of Queensland, the laid back no.8 is a lover of surfing, music and coffee as a part owner of two cafes in Brisbane.
Earlier this year, Higginbotham confirmed a move to Japan following the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but has since hinted at a possible return to Melbourne where he clearly enjoys living and playing. Fingers crossed!
Two men playing the game for all the right reasons, RUPA would like to congratulate Stephen Hoiles and Scott Higginbotham on reaching this amazing milestone and wish them all the best as they run out for their 100th Super Rugby games this weekend.
