John Eales AM (born 27 June 1970) is an Australian former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby. In 1999, he became one of the first players to win multiple Rugby World Cups.

Early life

Eales went to school at

Marist College Ashgrove , motto_translation = Act Courageously , location = Ashgrove, Brisbane, Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Queensland , pushpin_ima ...

, in Ashgrove. In his youth, Eales was a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

all-rounder and played first grade cricket for Queensland University in the Brisbane QCA cricket competition. Eales completed a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree with a double major in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

in 1991National Association of Australian University Colleges Inc
prior to taking to the international rugby stage.

Rugby career

Eales played

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

for

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competition ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He was given the nickname "Nobody" because "Nobody's perfect". Eales' 55-cap time as captain marked an era of Australian success in world rugby. Eales played a part in Australia's victories at the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

, first in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, and later in 1999. He took over the captaincy from

Phil Kearns Philip Nicholas Kearns (born 27 June 1967) is an Australian former rugby union player. He represented the Wallabies 67 times and was captain on ten occasions. He is a rugby commentator with the Fox Sports TV channel. Biography Kearns was bor ...

Statistics

Eales scored 173 points for Australia – 2 tries (one valued at 4, one at 5), 34 penalties and 31 conversions – a total which, as of April 2013, places him 12th on the all-time scoring list for

. He is the highest scoring forward in Test rugby history and, as of November 2015, only one of seven forwards to have surpassed 100 points in Test rugby (the others being

Richie McCaw Richard Hugh McCaw (born 31 December 1980) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He captained the national team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 test matches, and won two Rugby World Cups. He has won the World Rugby ...

Jean Prat Jean Prat (1 August 1923 – 25 February 2005) was a French rugby union footballer. He played as a flanker. He was awarded the Légion d'honneur in 1959. He is considered one of the best French rugby players of all time and was inducted into both ...

Takashi Kikutani is a Japanese rugby union player, who plays at number 8 or flanker for Canon Eagles and previously Toyota Verblitz. He also represented Japan at international level, and is the second highest try scorer for a forward of all time. Profession ...

Colin Charvis Colin Charvis (born 27 December 1972) is a former captain of the Wales national rugby union team and also played for the British & Irish Lions. A back row forward, Charvis was equally adept as a flanker or as the no. 8. Charvis became the w ...

Mamuka Gorgodze Mamuka Gorgodze ( ka, მამუკა გორგოძე) (born 14 July 1984) is a Georgian former rugby union player, who played in the top French professional rugby competition, the Top 14. He played for Toulon, having signed with the cl ...

and

Carlo Checchinato Carlo Checchinato (born 30 August 1970 in Adria, Province of Rovigo) is an Italian rugby union former player and is the current team manager for the Italy national team. Checchinato was born in Adria, close to Rovigo. His father, called Gianc ...

). This is largely because of his goal kicking, which is unusual for a forward; his two tries are unremarkable (in comparison, all of Checchinato's, Charvis's and McCaw's points have come from tries). Eales captained Australia on 60 occasions, 55 times in Test matches, making him the second most capped Wallaby captain after George Gregan (59). As of 2017, he is ranked seventh in games played as international captain. As of 2017, Eales' 86 caps make him the fourth most capped forward in Australia's Test rugby history, and joint 9th on the overall list. Eales played 20 Tests against the All Blacks, winning 11 and losing 9. Of those 20 Tests, he captained the Wallabies 11 times, winning 6 and losing 5. Eales is one of only 21 players to have represented the

in 100 or more state games - he represented his state in 112 games. He scored a total of 402 points in the

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

competition with 6 tries, 66 conversions and 80 penalties for the Queensland Reds. No forward has scored more points than him in the competition's history. He is one of a select group to have won the Rugby World Cup twice. He retired as the most-capped lock of all time, with 84 Test appearances in that position (his other two Tests were as a number eight). Eales has since been surpassed in caps as a lock by several players.

Post-playing career

Business

Eales was a founder of the

Mettle Group Mettle may refer to: *Mettle, see bravery. Music *''Mettle (album)'', album by Hugo Largo 1989 *"Mettle", a single by Leila from ''Blood Looms and Blooms'' *''Icky Mettle'', album by Archers of Loaf Other uses *Mettle (comics), a Marvel Avenger ...

and his personal company the JohnEales5. He is also a director of

Flight Centre Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) is an Australian travel agency. It was founded in 1982, and is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia. FCTG operates under multiple names in Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South A ...

Travel Group and

Magellan Financial Group Magellan Financial Group is an Australian investment manager focusing on global equities and global listed infrastructure. MFG funds are available to retail and institutional clients in both Australian Securities Exchange-listed and unlisted for ...

and has been a columnist for ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' newspaper. He is also engaged as a consultant for

Westpac Westpac Banking Corporation, known simply as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it ...

. He is also a non-executive director at

Fuji Xerox was a joint venture partnership between the Japanese photographic firm Fujifilm Holdings and the American document management company Xerox to develop, produce and sell xerographic and document-related products and services in the Asia-Pacifi ...

Sport ambassador, mentor and boards

Eales acted as a "rugby ambassador" at the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

in France, which involved a number of media duties and fulfilled the role as an Athlete Liaison Officer for the

Australian Olympic Committee Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

in the Athens, Beijing and

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He is also an Ambassador for the

Australian Indigenous Education Foundation The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) is a non-profit organisation which provides scholarships to the Indigenous students in Australia. History The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation was established in 2008 by Andrew ...

, Hearts in Union and the Melanoma Institute Australia. Together with Bond University, he presents the annual John Eales Rugby Excellence Scholarship which includes one-on-one mentoring with Eales.

Author

Eales has written two books, ''Learning From Legends'', Sport, and a Business version.

Academia

Eales is an occasional lecturer at

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

Personal life

Politically, Eales supported Australia's becoming a republic in the runup to the

1999 Australian republic referendum The Australian republic referendum held on 6 November 1999 was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. The first question asked whether Australia should become a republic with a President appointed by Parliament foll ...

. Eales' son, Elijah Eales, plays for the Mosman Cricket Club in

Sydney Grade Cricket NSW Premier Cricket (formerly known as Sydney Grade Cricket) is a cricket competition played in Sydney, Australia. The competition began in 1893 when a number of clubs that had been playing for many years on an ad hoc basis voted to create a forma ...

Honours

* Eales was named the 2002

Queenslander of the Year Queensland Day is officially celebrated on 6 June as the birthday of the Australian state of Queensland. History Moves towards statehood began with a public meeting in 1851 to consider separation of Queensland from the Colony of New South Wa ...

. * The annual award for the best Australian rugby union player is known as The John Eales Medal,

John Eales Medal The John Eales Medal is awarded to honour the best Australian rugby union player each year. The medal, which was launched in 2002, is jointly awarded each year by the Australian Rugby Union and the Rugby Union Players Association. The medal is ...

. * In 1999 he was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) for services to the community and rugby. * On 30 August 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australian Rugby. * In 2001, he was inducted into the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

'Best of the Best'. * Eales was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

in 2003. * In 2007, he was inducted into the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

Hall of Fame. * Eales was inducted to the Wallaby Hall of Fame in 2011. *Eales was awarded Legend status in the

in 2020.

References

External links

Sporting Heroes Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eales, John 1970 births Australia international rugby union players Australian Institute of Sport rugby union players Australian rugby union captains Australian rugby union players Brothers Old Boys players World Rugby Awards winners World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees Living people Members of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Queensland Reds players Rugby union locks University of Queensland alumni Rugby union players from Brisbane