Century in sight for stalwart Leonard

Leonard said: ?They?d been around, they?d seen some people come and go. Before my time, some players would turn up, play one England game and never be seen again because selection was so fickle. Hearing those stories from such great players really made me think.?

That attitude would have counted for nothing was it not for Leonard?s extraordinary record when it comes to injuries.

Nowhere is rugby more demanding and physical than in the front row and props in particular have a massive burden to cope with, quite literally.

But Leonard, about to enter his 12th international season, has missed only one match through injury ? against Australia in 1997 ? and 12 others of England?s 104 Tests in that time.

Leonard said: ?There are no secret tricks I?ve got. There?s no substitute for hard work.?

It took something more than hard work to come back from the neck injury he suffered in 1992. That summer, a piece of bone from his pelvis was used to replace an exploded disc in his neck.

There was no England tour and by the first international of the autumn, the healing was complete.

He even survived the Lions tour to Australia, an ordeal which is still keeping some of Britain and Ireland?s finest surgeons busy.

Not surprisingly, Leonard is not from the Matt Dawson school when it comes to his views on the rigours of the tour.

He said: ?There was a lot of training on that trip but, being sensible, we needed that training. I don?t think people understand how difficult it is coming from four different countries.?

And all the talk of there being a split between the Test squad and the rest of the Lions cuts no ice with Leonard, who is the ultimate team man.

Even though he was on the bench for the first two Tests, losing out to Scotland?s Tom Smith for the loose-head spot, and out of the match squad altogether for the decisive third game, Leonard claims the tour still supplied a unique Lions experience.

?Even though I wasn?t playing, I would have felt elated if we had won that third Test,? he explained. ?It?s only when you?ve been on a Lions trip that you understand that.?

Ten days after returning from Australia it was back to training with Harlequins. He squeezed in a holiday with his wife and two young boys before returning to the grindstone, but Leonard is not complaining.

?I actually feel pretty good,? he said. ?That?s partly the enthusiasm of a new season ? there?s new people at the club and you want to get your hands dirty.?

Harlequins know there is plenty more in the Leonard locker as they have just given him a new three-year contract.

As for England, he modestly points out that Graham Rowntree is the man in possession of the No.1 shirt following the summer tour to North America. The bad news for Rowntree and other pretenders like David Flatman and Trevor Woodman is that Leonard?s appetite is as keen as ever.

He isn?t ruling out another World Cup in 2003.

But he won?t contemplate Rome and that magical century. Where better to bring up the hundred? The eternal city is just the place for Leonard, the eternal prop.