A place in the World Rugby Hall of Fame surely means it's about time George Smith is immortalised with a statue outside Canberra Stadium.
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"Or at least a bar," Smith's former ACT Brumbies and Wallabies teammate Ben Alexander said. "I think a bar would be well-suited."
Smith is in line for rugby's ultimate honour as the man who "redefined what it would mean" to wear a Wallabies jersey enters the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
The ACT Brumbies legend is the 19th Australian to enter the esteemed group, joining the likes of George Gregan, John Eales, David Campese and Stephen Larkham.
Smith will be inducted alongside Dan Carter [New Zealand], Thierry Dusautoir [France], Juan Martin Hernndez [Argentina] and Bryan Habana [South Africa] at the World Rugby Awards in Paris on October 29.
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"He's one of the greatest of all time. It's greatly deserved for a generational player. The guy could do anything on the field," Alexander said. "Definitely one of my career highlights was getting to say I was George Smith's teammate."
But when Alexander first turned up to Brumbies training and saw Smith, by that stage midway through his run of eight consecutive Brett Robinson Awards as the Brumbies' player of the year?
"Shitting myself," Alexander said.
"I'd watched him when I was at school, and then to be training with him ... but he was just such a calm, friendly guy. He made time to chat to the young blokes and mentor them.
"We'd go on tour and he'd take us to the movies on a Friday night, it was a bit of a ritual. Stirling Mortlock and a few of us would go see a movie the night before, rather than just sit in your hotel room all night.
![Brumbies legend George Smith will enter World Rugby's Hall of Fame. Picture by Gary Schafer Brumbies legend George Smith will enter World Rugby's Hall of Fame. Picture by Gary Schafer](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/f910db2c-31c1-4d10-89a6-e72c802b2de7.jpg/r0_0_2000_1124_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"It was just incredible for a young player like myself to watch how the greats would prepare for a game, and how mentally they would get away from the game the night before, they didn't sit in their room thinking about the game all night, they could switch off.
"That was a super valuable learning experience for me as a young guy."
You glance over Smith's resume and wonder where to start.
A maiden Test cap after just one season of Super Rugby, which marked the first of the future Wallaby captain's 111 appearances for Australia.
A series win against the British and Irish Lions in 2001, a Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations triumph a year later, and the Rugby World Cup final appearance which followed.
![George Smith being chaired off the field. Picture by Graham Tidy George Smith being chaired off the field. Picture by Graham Tidy](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/2c75f524-704b-4e37-9b26-98e36b3e33ee.jpg/r0_428_2766_2239_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Two Super Rugby titles with the Brumbies and a pair of John Eales Medals as the Wallabies' best player.
Ten Brett Robinson Awards - eight of which were consecutive - and the four successive Australian Super 14 Player of the Year titles he claimed during that span.
His tenth Brett Robinson Award as the Brumbies' players' player in 2013 - the year Smith inspired the ACT to a thrilling semi-final win at Loftus Versfeld with a spate of second-half turnovers - was enough for Sportsbet to frame a market for ways to honour him.
The George Smith Stand at a proposed stadium in Civic was a $2.50 favourite, the Brumbies naming their University of Canberra headquarters after him was at $3.50, while a statue at Canberra Stadium was a $4 chance.
Some resume for the man lured from Sydney to Canberra by one Eddie Jones.
![George Smith is a Brumbies legend. Picture by Marina Neil George Smith is a Brumbies legend. Picture by Marina Neil](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/f24fbab3-d6f3-48e8-82d4-275a62dc10b1.jpg/r0_81_4043_2354_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Smith played 142 games for the Brumbies, 22 for the Queensland Reds, and had stints in France, Japan and England.
When he hung up his boots in 2019 - this time for good - there could be no doubting Smith's place as one of the greatest of all time.
"I had first-hand experience of his excellence growing up playing junior club rugby against each other on Sydney's northern beaches, as a fierce opponent in Super Rugby, and as a Wallabies teammate," Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh said.
"George personified the spirit of the Wallabies, and redefined what it would mean to wear the Wallabies' number seven jersey for more than two decades, setting the standard for greats like Pocock and Hooper to follow.
"He was a warrior for the Wallabies in more than 100 Tests, and is one of the greatest Super Rugby players we've ever seen."
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