Being compared with Jason Leonard is not necessarily every young girl’s dream. For Rochelle Clark, though, there is no bigger honour than to draw up alongside the legendary prop as the most capped England rugby player, male or female, of all time. “It’s great to have my name associated with the ‘Fun Bus’,” acknowledges the 35-year-old Clark before her record-equalling 114th cap against France on Wednesday.
A few minutes with “Rocky” is an education. This is a woman who turned up 24kg lighter for her third cap than for her second – just think about that for a second – and has played Test rugby for 14 years with no sign of calling it a day. Few female athletes in their mid-30s would even contemplate turning professional, as Clark is finally doing this season.
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