There's no Super rugby cap by his name, but Warren McDonald has had more on-field minutes in ACT Brumbies colours than many of the club's former players.
For the past 11 years, McDonald has been Brumbies team doctor, and with that job has come countless on-field cameos at the side of stricken players.
If you can recall any of the occasions where Stephen Larkham walked off the field clutching his injured left elbow in agony, the chances are McDonald was there too, walking beside the dejected playmaker, asking how bad the injury felt.
McDonald has helped lead off the field the dazed, the broken, the bleeding. And it's only then that his work has really begun.
McDonald was farewelled by the club at its presentation night last Saturday at the AIS. On a night of great emotion generated largely by the tributes to player Shawn Mackay, who died on the South Africa tour McDonald was given a heartfelt send-off by his colleagues on the Brumbies' support staff and by the players themselves. He was awarded the Garry Quinlivan Service Award, named after one of the club's great off-field servants.
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times
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