What marks sporting greatness?

Talent, obviously. You do not get through the door without it.

Longevity, absolutely. The ability to do it day after day, week after week should never be under-estimated.

And adaptability, the desire for self-improvement, whether physical or mental to adapt to changes in rules, opponents, conditions.

In Prem Rugby history, there have been few better than Christian Wade.

The Newcastle Red Bulls winger's try against Sale means he has equalled Chris Ashton's all-time record, with both men now sitting on 101 career tries in the competition.

A hat-trick away to Exeter Chiefs in their previous Prem fixture meant Wade became only the second player to reach a century of tries.

Now, the 35-year-old will have his chance to surpass Ashton and claim the record for himself when Newcastle head to Saracens next Saturday.

All this, over 15 years after scoring his first, and with spells in two other sports in that time means we are not in the company of an average sportsperson.

Ashton's mark of 101 had stood for over three years.

And while the former England winger has regularly joked on television and radio about losing his record, Wade insisted that overtaking Ashton has not been on his mind.

"I sometimes feel the record is more important to other people than it is to me," he said.

"I am someone who is going to score tries. That's what I do. That's what I love to do. But that is the result of the team performing well and us having great cohesion.

"My main focus is being in that system and executing what we're trying to do. The better we can do, the more tries I'm going to score as a result."