Australia rugby captain George Gregan hinted on Tuesday he would finally be ready to hang up his boots if he leads the Wallabies at the World Cup in France next year.
”To get through to next year’s World Cup, that’ll pretty much do me,” Gregan told Channel Seven when asked about his remaining goals in his record-breaking career.
Gregan was speaking after a Monday night function honouring his achievements in becoming the most-capped player in Test history and Australia’s most-capped captain.
After the function, the 33-year-old Gregan said he still had the desire to lead Australia in his fourth World Cup campaign.
”I’m still loving being coached and I’m still being challenged and I do want to be there come next year,” he told reporters.
And he had a blunt message for critics in the Australian media who have been campaigning for his removal after a recent run of indifferent form, declaring: ”My career isn’t finished.”
The 126-Test scrumhalf became rugby’s most-capped international in June, when he surpassed prop Jason Leonard’s 119 caps for England and the British and Irish Lions.
This month Gregan became Australia’s leading Test captain, passing predecessor John Eales’ record of 55 Tests, when he led the Wallabies to a 20-18 victory over South Africa in Sydney. — AFP
