John Anthony Eales (born 27 June 1970) is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby. In 1999, he became one of the first players to win multiple Rugby World Cups.

Early life

Eales went to school at Marist College Ashgrove, in Ashgrove. In his youth, Eales was a cricket all-rounder and played first grade cricket for Queensland University in the Brisbane QCA cricket competition. prior to taking to the international rugby stage.

Rugby career

Eales played lock for Queensland Reds and Australia. He was given the nickname "Nobody" because "Nobody's perfect".

Eales' 55-cap time as captain marked an era of Australian success in world rugby. Eales played a part in Australia's victories at the Rugby World Cup, first in 1991, and later in 1999. – a total which, as of April 2013, places him 12th on the all-time scoring list for Australia. He is the highest scoring forward in Test rugby history and, as of November 2015, only one of eight forwards to have surpassed 100 points in Test rugby (the others being Richie McCaw, Jean Prat, Takashi Kikutani, Colin Charvis, Mamuka Gorgodze, Ardie Savea and Carlo Checchinato). This is largely because of his goal kicking, which is unusual for a forward; his two tries are unremarkable (in comparison, all of Checchinato's, Charvis's and McCaw's points have come from tries). As of 2017, Eales' 86 caps make him the fourth most capped forward in Australia's Test rugby history,

He retired as the most-capped lock of all time, with 84 Test appearances in that position (his other two Tests were as a number eight). Eales has since been surpassed in caps as a lock by several players. He is also a director of Flight Centre Travel Group and Magellan Financial Group and has been a columnist for The Australian newspaper. He is also engaged as a consultant for Westpac.

Sport ambassador, mentor and boards

Eales acted as a "rugby ambassador" at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, which involved a number of media duties and fulfilled the role as an Athlete Liaison Officer for the Australian Olympic Committee in the Athens, Beijing and 2012 London Olympics.

He is also an Ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, Hearts in Union and the Melanoma Institute Australia.

Together with Bond University, he presents the annual John Eales Rugby Excellence Scholarship which includes one-on-one mentoring with Eales.

Author

Eales has written two books, Learning From Legends, Sport, and a Business version.

Academia

Eales is an occasional lecturer at University of Notre Dame.

Personal life

Politically, Eales supported Australia's becoming a republic in the runup to the 1999 Australian republic referendum.

Eales' son, Elijah Eales, plays for the Mosman Cricket Club in Sydney Grade Cricket.

Honours

  • Eales was named the 2002 Queenslander of the Year.
  • The annual award for the best Australian rugby union player is known as The John Eales Medal, John Eales Medal.
  • In 1999 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to the community and rugby.
  • Eales was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2003.
  • In 2007, he was inducted into the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame.
  • Eales was awarded Legend status in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2020.
  • In 2025, he was an inaugural inductee of the Stadium Australia Hall of Fame.

References

Further reading

  • Sporting Heroes Profile
  • "The Goal is Success" – Guest editor MyCareer Sydney Morning Herald 11 November 2006