Russell Lance Fairfax (born 29 March 1952,
Sydney,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
) 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 ...
and
Rugby League
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
player. A precocious talent, he played his first rugby international while still at school. Having played eight tests for the Wallabies, he moved to Rugby League's
Eastern Suburbs Roosters in 1974. Following his retirement from Rugby League, Fairfax coached in the 1989 and 1990 seasons.
Early life
Russell Fairfax, whose father was in the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...
, grew up in
Sorrento, Victoria
Sorrento is a coastal town on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local government area. Sorrento recorded a popula ...
, where he played
Australian football. The family moved to
Ipswich, Queensland, where he played rugby league, before moving to Sydney.
Fairfax attended
Matraville High School and played for
La Perouse and
Alexandria Rovers
The Alexandria Rovers are an Australian rugby league football team based in Alexandria, New South Wales, a suburb of south-central Sydney. They play in the South Sydney District Junior Rugby Football League.
Notable Juniors
Notable First Grade P ...
rugby league clubs in his junior years, before joining the
Randwick club to play
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 ...
. Playing at fullback he represented
Australian Schools on their tours of South Africa (1969) and New Zealand (1970).
Football career
From 1971-73, Fairfax played in eight rugby union tests for Australia.
In 1974, the joined
Eastern Suburbs rugby league club and was an instant sensation in the new code. His unorthodox play and long blonde flowing locks made him a crowd favourite. Fairfax played in 115 matches for
Easts and won premierships with that club in 1974 and 1975. Fairfax represented both Sydney and
NSW during his career but a broken leg suffered during the height of his career in the 1975 season probably prevented him from playing for Australia also in that rugby code. During the
1976 NSWRFL season
The 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 69th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundation clubs and another six from around Sydne ...
, Fairfax played at fullback in the unofficial
1976 World Club Challenge
The 1976 World Club Challenge was an unofficial trial of what would later become the World Club Challenge concept, with the 1975 NSWRFL season's premiers, Eastern Suburbs hosting the 1975–76 Northern Rugby Football League season's Premiersh ...
match against British champions
St. Helens in Sydney.
Fairfax played the final season of his career - 1981, with the
South Sydney club and went on to coach the Snowy River Bears in
Group 16.
Fairfax had an unsuccessful stint in coaching at the
Eastern Suburbs Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen ...
in 1989 and 1990.
Other roles
During the 1970s (prior to becoming a full-time professional player), Fairfax taught
physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...
at
Randwick North High School and
Cleveland Street High School
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
.
After retiring from football, Fairfax had a long career in
sports journalism
Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of t ...
with
Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
.
At the 2017 local government elections, Fairfax stood as an Independent councillor for
Randwick City Council.
Personal life
Fairfax is married with two children. In 2014 he had a serious brain injury that required intensive surgery from which he recovered, but had some memory and personality effects.
References
1952 births
Living people
People educated at Matraville Sports High School
Australia international rugby union players
Australian rugby league coaches
Australian rugby league commentators
Australian rugby league journalists
Australian sports journalists
New South Wales rugby league team players
Rugby league fullbacks
Rugby league players from Sydney
Rugby union players from Sydney
South Sydney Rabbitohs players
Sportsmen from New South Wales
Sydney Roosters coaches
Sydney Roosters players
Rugby union fullbacks
People from Sorrento, Victoria
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