World of Boxing and Rugby Union
Lock
2. John Eales
t is unbelievable to consider that in his formative years he was considered to be a better cricketer than Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden. It wasn’t until the age of twenty that he focused in on rugby union but boy did he make up for it! 2nd row players need the size and genuine jumping ability to dominate and not just compete in the line outs. John Eales did this and had the immense strength to power the props into the scrum. The whole front five should engage as one tight unit not as five individuals, under his tutorship this was always the case. He was also mobile enough to get quickly around the pitch.
A true Australian sporting legend, Eales won two World Cups and played 84 times for his country, 55 times as captain, from the second row, with a further two caps earned at No.8, contributing to a total of 86 international appearances.
Nicknamed 'Nobody', because 'nobody's perfect', Eales possessed pretty much every skill the modern rugby player requires. Mobility, fantastic hands, mastery of the set piece, advanced reading of the game, strong defence, a huge work rate, and he kicked the goals to boot. The sight of the big second row lining up kicks at goal always provided a sense of wonder for those watching, but the statistics speak for themselves, with Eales kicking a total of 163 international points, including several match-winning attempts.
Not only that, he was thoroughly accomplished as a captain, tactically astute and a shrewd general of
his resources, and it is no coincidence whatsoever that his international career ran in parallel with Australian rugby's most successful era.
Eales earned his first international honours in 1991, in a 63-6 victory over Wales. From there, it was on to England for the second ever Rugby World Cup and the rest is history. At that tournament, a 21-year old Eales was a key part of Nick Farr-Jones' Wallaby side that defeated England 12-9 in the final at Twickenham.
In 1999 Eales joined Farr-Jones in that ever-increasing, but highly select group of World Cup winning captains. Australia's capture of the World Cup was built on outstanding defence and clinical rugby football, brilliantly planned and executed by coach Rod Macqueen and his captain Eales. Much of Australia's success in the late 1990s and early 2000s hinged on this successful partnership between Eales and Macqueen. The clearest indication of this, outside of the 1999 World Cup win, was Australia's retention of the Bledisloe Cup over arch-rivals New Zealand between 1998 to 2002, and the two Tri-Nations titles of 2000 and 2001. Indeed, those two Tri-Nations tournament wins under Eales remain Australia's only successes in that tournament.
The No.5 ended his international career in 2001 repelling the challenge of Martin Johnson's British and Irish Lions, playing in all three Test matches, before his final game, fittingly a Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney against the All Blacks. In a period of classic tussles between these two giants of world rugby, this match was another dramatic encounter. With Australia leading comfortably, New Zealand stormed back to take the lead in the closing stages, before Aussie No.8 Toutai Kefu scored a last-gasp try to win the game.
Eales retired as the most capped lock in rugby union history, with 84, a record which has since been broken by a number of players
Undisputedly one of the best locks of his generation; I place him higher and would have him dine at rugby union’s ‘top table.’ He is the highest points scorer for a forward in rugby union test history. This was mainly due to his fantastic goal kicking ability that is unusual for a forward. If a penalty kick was too far out for the great Michael Lynagh and a conversion was required for victory; step forward John Eales.