Sixways speedster Marcel Garvey will clock up another big milestone in his career when Worcester Warriors tackle Bristol on Sunday as he makes his 100th Guinness Premiership appearance.
Garvey will hit his century at the Memorial Stadium after being named in the side by Director of Rugby Mike Ruddock.
Achieving the milestone is a great achievement for any player and obviously means a lot to Worcester’s pace ace.
“I feel like I’ve been around for a long time now – it’s nice to finally get there following my injuries,” said the 25-year-old.
Garvey’s first ever match in the league was against Leeds, whilst playing for his old club Gloucester at Kingsholm, and he certainly burst onto the scene, scoring a try in each of his first two games and then a hat trick at home against Bristol.
The achievement of 100 appearances comes as a surprise to Garvey who admits whilst at school at St Peter’s High School in Gloucester, he never really enjoyed rugby.
“I went to St Peter’s from a football playing primary school and I didn’t really like to play rugby,” he said. “We were made to play it in P.E up until year 9 or 10, and then it was pushed upon me and I went from there.”
Last week was also an important milestone for Garvey as he made his 50th appearance for the Warriors in the vital home win against local rivals Gloucester – a win that meant a lot to the player for several reasons.
“I definitely got bragging rights from last week’s win, allowing me to walk tall in Gloucester (where he still lives) and give some back to the Gloucester supporters,” said Garvey.
“It was a good win for the club and hopefully the lads can replicate that in the match against Bristol.”
And when asked what his most memorable/enjoyable moment has been in his career so far, Garvey doesn’t hesitate. “It definitely has to be last weeks win against Gloucester. It’s a match that meant a lot to me and was one that I will never forget,” he added.
Garvey has played against many teams in his career, as well as having many interesting and exciting battles with opposition wingers, and revealed who he rates as the hardest.
He said: “Leicester are always a tough team to beat at Welford Road, as are Stade Francais at the Stade Jean-Bouin.
“As to the toughest player I’ve played against, it has to be Sailosi Tagicakibau from London Irish. I don’t worry about playing against him, but when you play against him, you know you’re in for a tough day at the office. He offers a lot to London Irish, not just with his pace, but his strength as well makes him really hard to tackle.”
Having recently made his comeback from a potentially career threatening hip problem, Garvey is now very upbeat about the future.
“I hit a good bit of form towards the end of last season, playing week in week out, but because of injuries I’ve not been able to do that this season,” he said.
“But now I’m injury free, hopefully I can go on and play well in the final few games of the season. With the weather improving and the ground starting to firm up, this is my most favourable part of the season.”