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Home / Sport

Crazy Sydney rugby player still propping his club scrum aged of 65

NZ Herald
15 May, 2017 08:16 PMQuick Read

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Bruce Leigh played his 800th rugby game for the Canterbury Berries Rugby Union Club. Photo / Daniel Aarons

Bruce Leigh played his 800th rugby game for the Canterbury Berries Rugby Union Club. Photo / Daniel Aarons

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Bruce "Crazy" Leigh says rugby has got "much softer".

Which is lucky for him, since he is still playing for his Sydney club, the Canterbury Berries, at the age of 65.

Leigh has just notched up his 800th game for the Berries, helping extend his career by moving from wing to prop. He started as a 21-year-old, playing every season since.

"I never started playing rugby to break any records," Leigh told the Canterbury-Bankstown Express.

"When I was 21, if someone had told me I was going to play 800 games I'd say 'yeah, right. I don't think so'."

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"In the dressing sheds just before the game I started getting butterflies in my stomach. I always said I'll keep playing until that goes away."

His nickname has nothing to do with playing rugby at a crazy age.

Leigh said: "I've never worried about tackling bigger blokes. My nickname's 'Crazy' because I used to go out onto the field and just tackle the biggest bloke as hard as I possibly could."

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He celebrated the 800 milestone in style, with a 26 - 0 win over the Sydney Harlequins.

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