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Australia's Most Successful Rugby Captain

The John Eales Statue on the Suncorp Stadium southern plaza

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