Locky's a legend

Tuesday 27th October 2009

Darren Lockyer achieved a very significant milestone in the thrilling draw between Australia and New Zealand in the opening round of the Gillette Four Nations tournament. 

It was his 47th international match in the green and gold and he thus overtook Mal Meninga's record to become Australia's most capped player in the history of the game.

Lockyer's milestone, and the sheer passion and footballing quality shown in that match between the Kangaroos and Kiwis, came as a timely reminder of just how great international Rugby League can be and how important it is to the general well being of the sport.

Because, no matter how many times people try to tell us that Rugby League has always been a parochial game, where local club interests override international events, the very special honour of playing for your country will always be a step above. 

Some might disagree, and point to the fact that bigger crowds are attracted to Cup Finals and Championship Grand Finals than to international matches - but it is in the Test match and World Cup arena where the greatest legends of the game have been created.

International football is where players can make their reputations as all-time greats in the annals of Rugby League. Despite all the wonderful things Darren Lockyer has achieved with both the Brisbane Broncos and Queensland, his place in history as an iconic figure in the game will always be assured now he has become Australia's most capped international. 

It was the same for the man he overtook to achieve that record, Mal Meninga. Big Mal also had a great club career and also was a Queensland icon who played a key role in the emergence of the State of Origin juggernaut - but the headlines in the history books concentrate on the fact that he played for his country more times than anybody else and was the first man to go on four full Kangaroo tours.

I have a feeling some of the New Zealanders who played so superbly in that opening match at the Twickenham Stoop could be carving major reputations for themselves that, in a few years time, might see them standing in the Kiwi hall of fame alongside recent greats like Stacey Jones and Ruben Wiki. History, of course, tells us that you can never take anything for granted with the Kiwis - just as used to be the case in the days when France were a major power in international Rugby League - but for some years now, wise judges have been predicting that New Zealand could become the dominant force in the League code, thanks largely to the huge number of islanders who find the modern game the perfect vehicle for their physical prowess.

They all qualify to play for the Kiwis despite many of them hardly spending any of their lives in New Zealand and being raised in the prolific Australian Rugby League junior system. But it is obvious that this new generation of Kiwis approach matches against the Aussies with absolutely no fear, and we can look forward to many more epic Test clashes between the two Trans Tasman nations in the next few years.

That's got to be good news for the game in both New Zealand and Australia because, as I said earlier, despite the overwhelming strength and media presence of their club competition, the NRL,  there is still nothing quite as good as Test match Rugby League for the very best players to aspire to.

I'm sure the first thing Darren Lockyer dreamt about when he was a kid  kicking a ball around in his home town of Roma, was pulling on the green and gold jumper and playing for Australia (almost certainly against the Poms!) Now he can stand alongside those immortals of the Australian game like: Clive Churchill, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands - or even his own Queensland boyhood hero, Wally Lewis. 

It's the same for players from all the other countries, England, France and New Zealand.  They can look at the names of the legends of the past and dream, one day, of their names being spoken with the same reverence.

And it's pointless people trying to compare the great players from different generations in terms of saying who was "the best." Great players are great players, no matter what era they played in, it's impossible to make analytical comparisons because not only have players' circumstances changed dramatically in terms of the professionalism and rewards available to them - the game of Rugby League on the field has changed hugely due to different rules and interpretations.

What is written in stone is that all those famous players of the past - the ones we now remember as legends - got the opportunity to carve their reputations by taking part in major tours and fiercely fought Test series and World Cups. I've been lucky in that I was brought up in a time of being able to see many of these famous international events unfold and great players emerge from them, and my hope for the current and future generation of British players is that they might get the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of their illustrious predecessors.

Almost all our iconic British figures became such because of their achievements on overseas soil - all the great tours to Australia or the World Cups in France in 1954 and 1972. And for French Rugby League, their greatest legend remains the first tour to Australasia in 1951. Such historic events will always be there to inspire future generations, just as Darren Lockyer has been inspired to become Australia's most capped player.

TALKING of the great tours, could I send a reply to "GeorgTrackl" who contacted this website and asked about my proposed book on the 1951 French tour. I am very grateful for you getting in touch but, alas, I am not in a position to be able to publish the book imminently.

It remains a dream of mine to do so, as I have so much fantastic material and  information ready to include, and I made promises to some of the great old players like Crespo, Rinaldi and Jean Dop before they died that I would honour their memory in this way. I dearly hope that, one day, I will be able to find the means to make the dream come true.

Read more on international Rugby League and its history in "Rugby League Journal",

www.rugbyleaguejournal.net