Along the way, he has seen off every international stand- off. Not even the most venerable of the species, Rob Andrew, could last quite that long. Botica, the sole survivor from the cast of the first World Cup in 1987, has done it despite breaking his right leg in two places almost five years ago, hence the internal hardware. That he may top the bill tomorrow is no accident.
'The motivation is still there and playing in a place like Biar-ritz where the sun shines a lot makes it easier to keep going,' he said. 'As you get older, you have to change because it's harder to play the way you used to. Apart from a little speed off the mark, I don't think I've lost too much.
'I try not to tackle too much and keep out of trouble but I always try to do that extra bit in training. I get some grief from the team calling me Grandad. Fair enough, but, when I beat them in certain fit-ness tests, I make sure they all know they've been beaten by Grandad.'
Botica will not be doing a Jeff Probyn and reappearing in his mid-forties, or at least he reckons he won't. 'This is my last season,' he said. 'I'd like to win the European Cup and we have the firepower to do it.'
And when it's all over, the endurance man will be on his bike for the ultimate in endurance, the Hawaiian Triathlon, swimming five kilo-metres, cycling another 100 and running a marathon, all in one fell swoop. At least Northampton have some idea of what they are up against.
