James Slipper

James Slipper
Full nameJames Alexander Slipper
Born (1989-06-06) 6 June 1989 (age 37)
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight117 kg (258 lb; 18 st 6 lb)
SchoolThe Southport School
Rugby union career
Position Prop
Current team ACT Brumbies
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2010–2018 Queensland Reds 104 (25)
2014–2018 Queensland Country 5 (0)
2019– ACT Brumbies 112 (25)
Correct as of 5 June 2026
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007 Australia U18 3 (0)
2009 Australia U20 5 (0)
2010–2026 Australia 154 (20)
Correct as of 18 July 2026
Coaching career
Years Team
2026– Brumbies (SRA) (Scrum coach)
Correct as of 10 September 2026
Medal record
Men's rugby union
Representing  Australia
Rugby World Cup
Silver medal – second place2015 EnglandSquad
Bronze medal – third place2011 New ZealandSquad

James Alexander Slipper (born 6 June 1989), nicknamed Slips and the Golden Slipper, is an Australian professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Super Rugby club ACT Brumbies and the Australia national team. In September 2025, Slipper became Australia's most-capped player, reaching 150 appearances. On 20 March 2026, Slipper became the most-capped Super Rugby player, hitting 203 Super Rugby appearances in the ACT Brumbies' 33–24 win against the Chiefs.

Early life

Slipper was born and raised on the Gold Coast, Queensland. He first played junior rugby for the Bond Pirates in the local Gold Coast competition, before dedicating his weekends to playing for The Southport School (TSS) in the prestigious GPS schools competition. He would take part in a golden generation for TSS which included back-to-back GPS premierships in 2006 and 2007 while also being chosen to represent the Australian Schoolboys team three times in international fixtures. Following graduation, he signed a contract with the Queensland Reds.[citation needed]

Club career

In February 2010, Slipper made his Super Rugby debut for the Queensland Reds against the New South Wales Waratahs at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

In the 2011 Super Rugby season, Slipper was a part of the championship winning Queensland Reds side.

On 16 January 2015, Slipper was appointed the new captain of the Queensland Reds, replacing James Horwill, who would be leaving the Reds at the end of the Super Rugby season to join English Premiership side Harlequin F.C.

In September 2018, the ACT Super Rugby team, the Brumbies, added James Slipper to their team for the 2019 Super Rugby season. He was a very positive addition to a successful season, with the Brumbies finishing on the top of the Australian conference. Slipper was said to add wisdom and depth to the team.

International career

Slipper was named in the squad for the Australia A national rugby union team's two matches against England in June 2010.

On 12 June 2010, Slipper made his debut for the Australia national rugby union team against England at Perth. He was the 843rd player in history to represent Australia. He quickly became a regular for the national team, playing in all six of Australia's matches in the 2010 Tri Nations Series. Slipper featured in 13 of the Wallabies 14 Tests during 2010.

Slipper was chosen in Australia's 30-man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He played in all of Australia's games during the tournament.

In August 2015, Slipper was named in the Wallabies 31-man squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.

On 5 September 2015, he captained the Wallabies to a 47–10 victory over the United States at Soldier Field in Chicago, as part of their preparations for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

In August 2019, Slipper was named in the 31-man Wallabies squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

In November 2020, Slipper won his 100th cap for the Wallabies in a 24–22 victory over the All Blacks at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

In August 2023, Slipper was named in the 33-man Wallabies squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

He won his 140th cap for the Wallabies in a 28–31 defeat to New Zealand on September 21st, 2024 at Accor Stadium in Sydney, overtaking George Gregan as the Wallabies' most capped player.

On 1 October 2025, Slipper called time on his international career after his 150th cap against New Zealand in the final round of the 2025 Rugby Championship.

In June 2026, Slipper reversed his retirement from international rugby after answering an SOS call from Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt following an injury crisis to other squad members. Slipper was named in the Wallabies squad for July's Nations Championship. On 18 July 2026, Slipper played his 154th Test for the Wallabies in their 57-10 victory over Italy, becoming the second most-capped player in international rugby, surpassed only by Welsh lock Alun Wyn Jones.

Coaching career

On 10 September 2026, the ACT Brumbies announced Slipper as the new scrum coach for the Brumbies Super Rugby AUS team ahead of the 2026 campaign.

Honours

Queensland Reds

Australia

References

  1. 1 2 Fontaine, Angus (20 September 2024). "'I feel every one of my Tests': James Slipper on the long and winding road to Wallabies record". Guardian Australia. Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024.
  2. ↑ Drennan, Jonathan (22 September 2024). "Golden Slipper relieved to get cap milestone out of the way". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "Plus500 Brumbies confirm 2021 Super Rugby Squad | Latest Rugby News | Plus500 Brumbies". 5 January 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024.
  4. ↑ James Standley (12 June 2010). "Australia 27–17 England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  5. ↑ QRU (2010). "James Slipper player profile at redsrugby.com.au". Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  6. ↑ ARU (2010). "James Slipper player profile at Rugby.com.au". Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  7. ↑ Maloney, Sean (19 March 2026). "Sean Maloney: Beloved prop James Slipper may play on as Wyatt Crockett pays tribute to record breaker". Nine.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  8. ↑ Lusted, Peter (18 March 2026). "ACT Brumbies veteran James Slipper set to break Super Rugby's record for most games played". ABC News. Archived from the original on 22 June 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "Queensland Reds Captain James Slipper Joins Bond University". 18 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Wallabies and Queensland Reds prop James Slipper to give back to junior club Bond Pirates". 18 February 2017.
  11. ↑ "GPS rugby: Nudgee College v The Southport School grand final decider". 13 September 2018.
  12. ↑ Australia, Rugby (1 October 2025). "James Slipper announces retirement from Test Rugby". wallabies.rugby. Archived from the original on 15 April 2026. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  13. ↑ Australia, Rugby (8 June 2023). "Re-signed Slipper in line to break Wallabies' records". wallabies.rugby. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  14. ↑ "Slipper to captain Reds in 2015, Karmichael Hunt to vice captain".
  15. ↑ "James Slipper to captain Reds". 16 January 2015. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024.
  16. ↑ "Slipper to lead Queensland Reds". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "QLD Reds Announce Leadership Team for 2015". 16 January 2015.
  18. ↑ Newman, Beth (8 July 2019). "2019 Super Rugby Report Card: How did the Brumbies shape up?". www.rugby.com.au. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  19. ↑ "James Slipper primed for another Super year". www.espn.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 July 2026. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  20. ↑ Australia, Rugby (11 March 2020). "James Slipper extends deal to end of 2022 with Brumbies and Rugby Australia". australia.rugby. Archived from the original on 13 June 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  21. ↑ Phillips, Sam (3 November 2020). "From outcast to centurion, James Slipper reflects on 100 Tests". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 26 August 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "James Slipper". www.ultimaterugby.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Michael Cheika reveals Wallabies' 31-man squad". The Guardian. 21 August 2015. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  24. ↑ "Australia dominate second half for 47-10 win over U.S." SBS News. 6 September 2015. Archived from the original on 9 July 2026. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  25. ↑ "Wallaby Squad For RWC 2019 in Japan Announced". Super Rugby Pacific. 23 August 2019. Archived from the original on 19 September 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  26. ↑ read, Andrew Reid·5 min (8 November 2020). "All Blacks captain's classy post-match act for Aussie rival". Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ↑ Phillips, Sam (3 November 2020). "From outcast to centurion, James Slipper reflects on 100 Tests". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  28. ↑ "Australia name squad for Rugby World Cup 2023". Women's and Men's Rugby World Cup. 10 August 2023. Archived from the original on 17 September 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  29. ↑ Drennan, Jonathan (22 September 2024). "Golden Slipper relieved to get cap milestone out of the way". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  30. ↑ Decent, Tom (1 October 2025). "Slipper announces retirement from Test rugby as O'Connor dropped". The Age. Archived from the original on 18 October 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  31. ↑ "James Slipper: Australia's most-capped Test player to retire after Rugby Championship finale against New Zealand in Perth". Sky Sports. 2 October 2025. Archived from the original on 13 October 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  32. ↑ "Schmidt talks Test legend into shock retirement backflip". Nine.com.au. 10 June 2026. Archived from the original on 10 June 2026. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  33. ↑ "Veteran comes out of retirement for Wallabies, uncapped trio named". ABC News. 19 June 2026. Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  34. ↑ Henson, Mike (19 June 2026). "'Old dog' Slipper U-turns on Australia retirement". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
  35. ↑ Worthington, Sam (18 July 2026). "Wallabies star makes captaincy pitch in Schmidt's farewell Test". Nine.com.au. Archived from the original on 22 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  36. ↑ "Josh Canham scores historic hat-trick as Wallabies rout Italy". rugbyisthegame.com. 18 July 2026. Archived from the original on 22 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  37. ↑ "James slips into new role as scrum coach". brumbies.rugby. Brumbies Rugby. 10 September 2026. Retrieved 10 September 2026.