Australia's Most Successful Rugby Captain
Second-rower John Eales is Australia’s most successful Rugby captain. A proud Queenslander, Eales’ stature in Australian Rugby is so grand, the award for the Wallabies’ best player each year is named after him, the John Eales Medal.
Playing Records
- 109 matches for Queensland (1990-2001), 16 as captain
- 611 points for Queensland – 10 tries, 101 conversions and 121 penalties
- Won two Super Rugby championships for Queensland in 1994 and 1995
- Named in Queensland’s Team of the Century in 1999
- 1997 Stan Pilecki Medal – Queensland’s Players’ Player
- 44 matches for Brothers (1990-2001) – 12 tries, 7 conversions, 1 drop goal
- Named in Brothers’ Old Boys Team of the Century in 2001
- 86 Tests for Australia (1991-2001), a record 55 as captain
- Won 66 of 86 Tests – 79.9% winning record
- Retired the most capped international lock in Rugby Union history
- 173 points for Australia – 2 tries, 31 conversions and 34 penalties
- World’s highest scoring Test forward
- Captained Australia in their first match at Lang Park – July 1996 v All Blacks
- One of only five Australians to have won two Rugby World Cups – captained victorious 1999 side
- Five Bledisloe Cup wins – 1992, 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2001
- Captained Australia to victory over the 2001 British and Irish Lions
- Played 20 Tests against the All Blacks for 11 wins
- Captained 11 Tests against the All Blacks for 6 wins
Life Honours
- Queensland of the year – 2002
- Australian Sports Medal – 2000
- Member of the Order of Australia – 1999
- World Rugby Hall of Fame – 2007
- Australian Institute of Sport’s ‘Best of the Best’ – 2001
- Sports Australia Hall of Fame – 2007
- Wallabies Hall of Fame – 2011