Wales boss Warren Gatland has hailed Leigh Halfpenny as “the ultimate professional” ahead of him joining rugby union’s 100-cap club.
Halfpenny will reach three figures for Wales in Saturday’s opening World Cup warm-up game against England at the Principality Stadium.
Only eight other Wales players have clocked up a century of caps, with Halfpenny just the fifth back after Stephen Jones, Gareth Thomas, George North and Dan Biggar.
He made his Wales debut as a teenager against South Africa 15 years ago, while he has had to overcome a number of injury setbacks that meant lengthy absences from the game. “If you are talking about role models as a professional, you could not get a harder worker than Leigh Halfpenny in terms of how he prepares,” Gatland said. “The analysis, training and recovery, he is the ultimate professional.