‘Fat kid’ Alex Waller brings up his 300 for Saints

NORTHAMPTON prop Alex Waller paid tribute to a band of Saints legends as he joined the 300 one-club man band yesterday.

Waller, 31, became the 23rd player since 1895 to reach the milestone this weekend against Wasps.

The front row has been at Franklin's Gardens man and boy, scoring the winning try in the 2014 Premiership final and winning the Challenge Cup the same year, as well as playing twice for England Saxons.

But he admits he would never have made it to 300 without a helping hand at the start from some super stars in his early days.

“Bruce Reihana was captain at the time and Dylan Hartley was just breaking onto the scene,” he said. “I was lucky to cross paths with Carlos Spencer a couple of times and he was a legend of New Zealand rugby.

“I managed to play a game with him, albeit it for the second team Wanderers which I am not sure he was too chuffed about. It was a story for me to tell at school the next day!

“I really looked up to Dylan, he took me under his wing and I owe him a hell of a lot. Maybe he saw a fat kid that was once him coming in! Bruce was the consummate professional and was in better nick than 90 per cent of the boys when he retired. Those old school lads instilled a work rate in you – they had a bit of an edge to them.”

Waller adds: “Being asked to be captain alongside Dylan the first time was a huge honour for me. With my family being local it was massive.”

Danny Care reached 300 games for Harlequins earlier this season, joining Mike Brown and Chris Robshaw as others to complete the feat.

Waller said he is not finished yet and, despite the grind, is hopeful more players can match his achievement.

He added: “I do hope so. The game is getting faster, bigger, stronger and more attritional so I think it will be tough and I am not really sure how I have done it to be honest. It is a combination of luck and being in the right place at the right time. And working hard, but loads of people work hard and some of them don't have any luck.

“Hopefully I can be here until I retire –I will play as long as I can but I don't want to be the guy who is chasing a wage. I want to do Northampton proud.”