Tommy Vile and Danny Care were born in the same decade of different centuries, the former in Newport during the first half of the 1880s, the latter in Leeds during the second half of the 1980s.
The Welshman's record for the longest international career by any British player has stood for more than 100 years. And it will probably stand for another 100 now that Care has hung up his England boots.
As an England veteran of more than 15 years, the ageless Harlequin had gone to within less than 12 months of outstaying Vile when he called it quits. Both did so at the age of 37.
What made Vile's 16-year, 197-day span all the more commendable is that he achieved it in spite of the disruption of The Great War which he spent in action as an army major.
He made his Test debut not for Wales but the Lions, against Australia in Brisbane in the summer of 1904. The Welsh selectors made him wait almost four years before they decided he was worth a cap, against England at Ashton Gate in the last pre-Twickenham international between the neighbours.
The match went ahead in fog so thick that the majority of the 25,000 spectators were left peering through the peasouper in a losing battle to see any of the action. When asked which way Wales would be playing after winning the toss, fly-half Percy Bush said: “Wales will play with the fog.''
Despite losing his place to Swansea's Dicky Owen halfway through a season which brought the first Welsh Grand Slam, Vile returned three years later as captain only to lose the following season after a home defeat by England.
Incredibly, he made his most improbable comeback in 1921 after an eight-year absence, not just at scrumhalf but as captain against Scotland at Swansea, a match marred by recurring crowd trouble.
The longest-lasting of all scrum-halves retired only to reappear on the Test stage two years later as a referee in charge of the first of 12 internationals in eight seasons. A veteran of World War Two, a justice of the peace and High Sheriff of Monmouthshire, Vile died in 1958, aged 76.
