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 it ...

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 st ...

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 yea ...

degree with a double major in

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

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 competitions ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. 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 ...

, 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 Phi ...

, and later in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

. 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, Jean Prat, Takashi Kikutani,

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 and Carlo Checchinato). 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 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 ...

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 form ...

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, ...

. He is also a non-executive director at Fuji Xerox.

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 Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its founding on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher ed ...

, 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 c ...

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 Mosman Cricket Club is a cricket club based in Mosman, New South Wales, Australia. The club's senior players compete in the Sydney Grade Cricket competition, while junior members play in the North Shore Junior Cricket Association. Mosman Cricket ...

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. * 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 Go ...

(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 th ...

'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 t ...

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 ru ...

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