Monty recalls magic of Test No 100

Springbok great Percy Montgomery says becoming the first player to earn 100 Test caps for South Africa remains one of the proudest moments of his career.

Centre Damian de Allende (99 Tests) and loose forward Pieter-Steph du Toit (98) are both likely to reach that landmark against the All Blacks this month, almost 20 years after Montgomery became the first Springbok to reach the milestone. What added to the prestige was that his 100th came on his home ground of Newlands on 16 August 2008.

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“Everyone dreams of becoming a Springbok, but reaching a hundred Test matches and being the first to do so was unbelievable,” Montgomery said on the Boks Unpacked X The Verdict podcast.

“Records are meant to be broken, we all know that.

“With it being at Newlands, the SACS pupils came out with flags and I think many of them even grew their hair longer.

“Going out the tunnel at Newlands was unbelievable and having my family there was awesome.”

Montgomery also looked back on his Test debut, admitting the occasion was as nerve-racking as it was memorable.

“I remember my first game for the Springboks,” he said.

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“It was pretty nerve-wracking but I was confident coming off a Currie Cup win. I was young, fast, explosive and we had a really good bunch of guys. For a young guy coming in, playing with all of these senior guys around me was amazing.”

Photo: Duif du Toit/Gallo Images