ACT Brumbies ironman James Slipper is focused on delivering success to the club rather than individual goals as he moves into second on the all-time SMARTECH Super Rugby appearance list.
It feels like every second game is a milestone for the 35-year-old, becoming the most capped Wallaby last year in Sydney.
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Slipper will go past Aaron Smith with his 186th appearance when the Brumbies face the Blues in Auckland on Friday.
"It is special, but it's hard to focus too much on it. I'm at that stage of my career, I really want to do well for the Brumbies and get a bit of success here at the club," he told reporters.
"That's probably more my focus than any individual accolade or milestone. I'm treating it like any other game, and I think I'll probably reflect on all that sort of stuff when I finish."
This starts with a win over the Blues at Eden Park, with the Brumbies last winning there in 2013.
Slipper is one of few players to win at the ground, tasting success with the Reds a year earlier.
"You always come up against really good teams at Eden Park, whether it's the All Blacks or the Blues. You know you're going to be in a contest from the get-go," he said.
"I think the conditions play into it a bit. It always seems to be a bit greasy, a bit wet, very different to GIO (Stadium) and Canberra. Adapting to those conditions really quickly at the start of the game is really important.
"Thinking back to the game (in 2012) specifically, I can't remember what really worked that well. I think we just took our opportunities when they were given to us and that's like in any game.
"Each team gets given opportunities. It's about minimising the ones you give them and that's probably something that's put us in a good stead in the past in any game, so we'll be focusing on that."
Slipper isn't buying into the Blues' recent struggles, getting their first win of the season in a thriller last week.
They will also be without Hoskins Sotutu after his two-match ban following his red card.
"They're never easy and we're expecting that again. They're defending champs and they've got a good win on the weekend, so they're going to be full of confidence," Slipper believes.
"They've got strike power players all across their team, so it's setting up for a big one.
