The Rugby League International Federation will honour the seven players who have made 50 or more international appearances in their career by awarding them special golden caps this evening.
RLIF Chairman John Grant will present the caps at a celebration dinner to be held at Elland Road. He will award caps to honour the achievements of:
Jim Sullivan (1921-1934): 54 internationals, Wales, England and GB
Mick Sullivan (1954-1962): 50 internationals, England and GB
Ruben Wiki (1994-2006): 55 internationals, New Zealand
Adrian Morley (1996-2012): 53 internationals, England and GB
Darren Lockyer (1997-2011): 59 internationals, Australia
Petero Civoniceva (2001-2014): 51 internationals, Australia and Fiji
Cameron Smith (2006-2017): 56 internationals, Australia
Grant, a former Kangaroo player who played in the 1972 World Cup Final, admits special qualities are required to achieve such a milestone.
“We are honouring seven players who have reached the magical number of 50 international appearances in their career,” he said.
“Rugby league is a tough sport as we all know, and to collect together 50 or more appearances is a remarkable achievement and as the chair of the RLIF, it is a pleasure to be able to recognise those wonderful players with the award of a golden cap. I look forward to this number growing as more players get more opportunities to play more international rugby league.”
Adrian Morley, former England and Great Britain star, who will attend the dinner to collect his golden cap, is happy to be in such great company. He said: “It was a great feeling to represent my country on one occasion. It is an immense honour to have been able to do that 53 times and now to have this recognised by the rugby league world with a special golden cap is so flattering.
“The honour is only made bigger by the great players that I am alongside.”
