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 {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-stub