French clubs racking up the most cards

Peter Jackson breaks the news to Gareth Chilcott that his six sendings-off during his career is still a record

- Peter Jackson

AFTER more than 30 years in splendid isolation, Gareth Chilcott’s serene reign at the top of rugby’s hit parade still shows no sign of ending any time soon.

For sheer longevity, his run leaves some very famous people a very long way behind, most notably those who have made multi-millions from biffing a little white ball around the fairways of the world.

Tiger Woods only lasted 683 weeks as the No.1 golfer in the world, a mere 13 years which makes him look a bit of a fly-by-night compared to a veteran of the biff business, the immovable Mr Cooch of Bath and England renown.

Rory McIlroy managed a month or two short of two years as one of Woods’ successors in a position reserved for the outrageously blessed sultans of swing. Joe Louis ruled the global ringside roost as world heavyweight champion for almost 12 years; Joe Calzaghe reigned supreme among middleweights for ten years before running out of contenders.