Ralph revels as Mr Reliable

When the great All Blacks are discussed in pubs, bars, living rooms or in endless sports books, it is a fair bet that the name of Caleb Ralph will not be mentioned much. If at all.

But Ralph, an All Black who came in for some vituperative criticism from a sternly demanding nation, has created a landmark unlikely to be repeated in New Zealand rugby.

His game against the Stormers overnight was his 100th consecutive match for the Crusaders over eight seasons - in these days of intense rugby, injuries and rotation, a mark unlikely to be equalled.

It has not always been clear why Ralph attracted criticism. Still only 28 and still a tireless worker, fine finisher and judge of a pass, Ralph has probably suffered from comparisons with wingers with more obvious attacking weapons and who can beat a man with more panache than he possesses. Like his Crusaders team-mate Rico Gear, for example. Lately Ralph has even come to be ranked behind the Canterbury All Black hopeful Scott Hamilton.

But he is an excellent decision-maker, makes few mistakes and has good distribution and continuity skills. If he can keep his remarkable record going for the Crusaders, Ralph may even capture some Super 14 records before he finishes.

Perhaps the man with whom he can be most compared is a player with whom he has shared much game time at Canterbury, the Crusaders and the All Blacks - former national skipper Reuben Thorne. Like Ralph, a quiet achiever and efficient performer of the basics rather than obvious game-breaking skills, Thorne also copped a nation's disapproval during his All Black career and had to live, for a while, with the 'Captain Invisible' tag.

The All Black careers of both appear firmly over but they seem set to continue their Super rugby trailblazing. Ralph stands third on the Super rugby all-time try-scoring chart, although closely trailed by the Blues' Doug Howlett.

Both seem likely to have more chances to add to their tallies - with Robbie Deans saying from South Africa this week: "...he is one of our most reliable performers. Caleb has played almost every minute of those 100 games and he's committed himself for every minute."

But there are other quirky aspects to Ralph's career. He has scored tries against all five New Zealand Super franchises, he has a Commonwealth Games gold medal (from his first ascent to national honours, in sevens where he started as a schoolboy), and he is one of the few New Zealand rugby players to be linked to royalty (when romantically connected to the Queen's grand-daughter, Zara Phillips).

He made his Super debut for the Blues in 1998 - ironically, against the Crusaders - when the Blues won. But, surplus to requirements, he joined the Crusaders the following season and, incredibly, has gone on to play a part in every game they've played since then.

Ralph himself has been typically modest and unforthcoming in South Africa this week when he has been asked about the milestone.

However, he did say the game he most remembered was the win against the Waratahs [96-19] in the 2002 season.

"We were untouchable that day," he said. "Simply on fire."


Ralph Record

Age: 28.
Super rugby games: 109.
Consecutive games: Will play 100 consecutive matches for the Crusaders since 1999.
Starts: Has started in 97 of those 100 matches, playing 80 minutes for 89 of the first 99.
Super rugby tries: 53 in 109 matches (a 49 per cent strike rate).
All Black tests: 13.
Test tries: 8 (61 per cent s/rate).
Hat-tricks: vs Italy in 2002.

Try Masters

Top try scorers in Super rugby

57 - Joe Roff (Brumbies)
56 - Christian Cullen (Hurricanes)
53 - Caleb Ralph* (Crusaders)
52 - Doug Howlett* (Blues)
44 - Tana Umaga* (Hurricanes)
43 - Joeli Vidiri (Blues)
* current players