From David Wilson to Phil Waugh, George Smith to David Pocock -- if there is one position the Wallabies have never had trouble filling it is openside flanker.
And now, with Michael Hooper nearing the end of his esteemed career, the transition to next cab off the rank cast in the mould of the former Wallabies skipper and his predecessors will soon take place.
After re-signing with both Queensland Reds and Rugby Australia, former Junior Wallabies captain Fraser McReight appears to be in the box seat for that responsibility and to add his name to the list of world-class players to have worn the gold No. 7 jersey.
"It was relatively easy, obviously my home is here [in Brisbane], I love the Reds and I want to play for Australia. So I think in the end it was pretty easy, and for me it is great to have that locked away and to focus solely on footy," McReight told reporters on Thursday.
"I wouldn't say there was too much of thought [to go overseas], obviously there are some clubs that were interested, but I know for me this is probably the best place for me to firstly get better at rugby on -- and off the field as well -- and then also become a better person.
"So I love coming into work, it's a really enjoyable thing about here at the Reds, great mates, good coaches, I'm enjoying it at this current time and I want to extend that."
McReight has started the season in fine form with the Reds, who currently sit at 1-2 after the first three weeks of Super Rugby Pacific. His work on the ball at the breakdown, support play and defence have drawn widespread plaudits and, for some, the tag of best performed Australian No. 7 so far in 2023.
The arrival of Eddie Jones as Wallabies coach has also put the entire Australian playing group on notice, with those previously overlooked by Dave Rennie suddenly believing they can return to the fold; Jones has also kept his cards close to his chest as to whether Hooper could return as captain after stepping down for mental health reasons last year.
If Jones sticks with stand-in James Slipper or perhaps looks at Allan Alaalatoa -- who captained the Wallabies against Ireland -- speculation will immediately mount that the No. 7 jersey is wide open.
Not that McReight sees an obvious opportunity there just yet.
"I've spoken to Eddie, yep. I think it is going to be great for Australian rugby, exciting, I think you know where you are going to sit with him; he's going to let you know what you need to work on and that's great," he said.
"I don't really know too much about the pecking order, it's too early on [to know that], I'm not really worried about that at all. I've played three games so far for the Reds, we've got 14 more games until that grand final, so we want to keep ripping in and for me it's just about continuing form and playing well."
What is almost certain is that Hooper is unlikely to continue playing at Test level after this season.
When asked about pushing on to the 2025 British & Irish Lions series last year, Hooper indicated he did not see himself playing on that long; if selected this year, the four-time John Eales Medalist will have been playing at the top level for 11 years.
Despite McReight having long been anointed as Hooper's successor, he is unlikely to have an entirely serene path straight into the No. 7 jersey, with the Waratahs' Charlie Gamble, Brumbies duo Rory Scott and Luke Reimer, and even Rebels skipper Brad Wilkin, each showing signs they may too be players of Test-match quality.
Gamble and Reimer are each signed through to the end of 2024, while Scott is off contract at the end of this year.
But McReight appears to have the upper hand as Hooper's natural successor after biding his time behind the 31-year-old under Rennie, and then stepping in for the bulk of last year's Rugby Championship while the veteran No. 7 stepped away; he has also previously been tagged as a future national captain having done the job in the Under 20s when Australia were narrowly beaten in them 2019 Junior World Cup final.
Regardless, his retention is a clear vote of confidence for both the Reds and Wallabies, again reinforcing how strong the lure of first the Lions series and then the World Cup can be.
"I think if you look at the players that have re-signed, we're all young and we all want to our part for Australian rugby," he said. "There are some great things coming up, you've got the Lions tour coming up, you've obviously got the World Cup at the end of this year; and then for the players who have re-signed until 2027, it's a home World Cup. So I think why wouldn't you want to be a part of a few of those things, and I think it's great for Australian rugby."
But where others like Angus Bell and Alaalatoa have locked away their futures until the end of 2027, McReight has backed himself to be in a stronger bargaining position in two years' time.
Whether he is forced to sit tight for another year behind Hooper, or even finds himself in a genuine battle to start again in 2024, remains to be seen.
One thing is for sure, however, Australia will never be short of quality players putting their hand up to wear the gold No. 7 jersey. It has been a position of strength throughout the professional era, and looks well served for the run to 2027 and beyond.