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SYDNEY - George Gregan and Stephen Larkham are a bit like Starsky and Hutch, or bread and butter. You can't seem to have one without the other.
From the Canberra Kookaburras representative rugby team in 1993, to the Brumbies upon the advent of the Super 12 in 1996,
to Larkham's test debut a few months later, the two have been side by side, partners in crime if ever there were.
For a world record 75 tests -- and 54 wins, including Tri-Nations, Bledisloe Cup and World Cup triumphs -- the Wallabies have relied on Gregan and Larkham as their most inspirational of halves pairings.
They even have a stand named jointly in their honour.
So it comes as little surprise, after such synchronised careers, that the two legends will play their final test together on Australian soil on Saturday night against South Africa in Sydney.
It will also be Larkham's 100th test in total, and Gregan's 133rd, a tally unmatched in international rugby.
As Wallabies coach John Connolly puts it, it will be an immense occasion.
"They are virtual icons of Australian sport," he said.
"We've been so blessed in this country to have such incredibly consistent players playing in two of our key positions over the past 12 years or so."
For all their on-field successes as tight knit teammates, Gregan and Larkham are entirely different individuals off field.
The sophisticated and business-minded Gregan, 34, is the coffee and wine lover intent on pursuing commercial interests outside of the game when he finally hangs up the boots after a six-month stint with French club Toulon following the 2007 World Cup.
The laidback and working class Larkham, 33, would rather play forever if he could, and indeed hasn't ruled out extending his career beyond his two seasons at Edinburgh, should the humble champion not put his IT degree to more practical use.
While Gregan is already studying French and looking forward to embracing European culture, Larkham says he wouldn't be caught dead wearing a kilt.
"We are different personalities but that's the good thing about team sports," Gregan said.
"Everyone is different and you respect that and you embrace it. He's a different character and he could say the same about me.
"But there's always common ground and all the things he talks about -- the team environment, the climate and the mateship -- that's the common thread."
As much as they are as different off the field as they are close on it, Gregan and Larkham are two perfectionists -- driven by their mutual desire to succeed at all costs.
It is that shared quality which Gregan attributes to the pair's longevity.
"We're always pushing each other to become better," Gregan said.
"I expect a certain standard from him and he expects a certain standard from me and when we don't reach that standard, we're happy to get into each other a little bit.
"Pre-game and post-game, we both like executing a plan. We like putting ourselves under that pressure and we're the first ones to be honest and open if we don't execute it well or if we make mistakes.
"We say 'okay, this is how we can do it better' and I think that's probably the enduring thing. We want to do things better.
"Plus the positions we're in, we handle the ball the most, so we've got a fair responsibility and so you do everything that you can to make sure that the team performs as well as it can and we've enjoyed the challenge of the game changing, and changing with it."
Gregan admits he hasn't enjoyed it quite so much when his partnership with Larkham has been broken, conceding the selectors' experimenting with Mat Rogers at first five-eighth and plotting to replace him at halfback with Matt Giteau had been testing.
"But it's good. You never take your spot for granted. Everyone's replaceable," he said.
Gregan's resilience has been necessary, too, for while Larkham is loved by all, the Wallabies' longest-serving captain has had to endure more scrutiny and criticism than arguably any player in Australian rugby history.
He accepts such pressures come with the territory.
"I was never beaten by it," Gregan said.
"It became a little bit mundane and repetitive, but my biggest motivating factor was my next performance. You're always going to be judged on that."
There is little doubt no matter what Larkham does between now and his last game for the Wallabies in three months, he'll be granted his simple wish of being remembered by Australian fans as "a good player, just really competitive".
"That's how I'd describe myself," Larkham said.
"Someone who does whatever it takes to get the win and to do right by your mates."
His teammates consider Gregan the same, even if his detractors don't.
"Everyone in the team looks up to him as a great player and I think the general public see him as a great player," Larkham said.
"So any time I can get associated with George, I'm very happy."
- AAP
