Stirling Mortlock

CA Brumbies captain Stirling Mortlock will make his triumphant return from injury on Friday night as he leads his side on against the Chiefs in his 100th Super Rugby match. Mortlock joined the CA Brumbies in 1998 and has developed into the world’s premier outside centre. The 30 year old has captained the CA Brumbies since 2004 and led the Wallabies through the 2007 Rugby World Cup before he had to undergo shoulder surgery, delaying his start to the 2008 Investec Super 14 season. Brumby Jack caught up with Mortlock prior to the Chiefs match.

Brumby Jack: What have been the standout memories from your 99 games?
Stirling Mortlock: It’s extremely tough to cut it down to just a few. Being part of our first-ever win in South Africa in Cape Town in 2000 was significant and even while I wasn’t on the field at the time, the ’04 premiership against the Crusaders was very special; just being involved in the team was amazing. The Waratahs semi final in 2002 was terrific when we beat NSW for the first time in Sydney but any time we run out on to Canberra Stadium and we get a win on our home strip I’m extremely happy.
 
BJ: When you started out in 1998 was there ever any consideration that you might be still running on in 99 games time?
SM: No, not at all. I came to the Brumbies for the opportunity to be part of a world-class team and hopefully learn off some of the best players in the world. I never thought I’d receive much game time in that first season but luckily enough I did. I came here with goals of doing well but I never thought I’d play for this long or notch up 100 games. I’ve had a few injuries along the way which have stopped me accumulating games but I’ve still got a few things that I want to achieve and hopefully there are still a fair few games in front of me.

BJ: Has it been frustrating being stuck on 99 games for this length of time?
SM: It hasn’t so much been being stuck on 99 games that’s been frustrating but it’s more having a lot of niggles and injuries that haven’t allowed me to get some consistency of games over the last two years at Brumby-level. It’s always tough to maintain rhythm and start trying to improve your performance when you’re not getting the regular game time and the result of that has been sitting around the 99 mark for a while. While it’s great to reach this milestone, realistically I just want to get some games under my belt and some consistency and if I can do that then I’ll be happy.

BJ: How’s the shoulder feeling now?
SM: The shoulder’s feeling great. The rehab’s been seamless and everything’s gone according to plan. We penciled in this date from the beginning of the injury and I couldn’t be happier with the way it’s transpired. I’m very confident, very happy and just excited about playing.