Legendary Eales still the reluctant hero of Aussie sport
MORE than two decades after the Queen presented him with the Webb Ellis Cup, John Eales still gets squeamish about all the accolades that keep coming his way.
As the captain of the last Wallabies team to win the Rugby World Cup, Eales has been afforded almost every award imaginable, even though he remains loath to accept credit for the team’s successes.
Eales, 50, just doesn’t view his individual achievements the same way everyone else does so when he was given the ultimate honour and officially elevated to the status as a Legend of Australian Sport, he had some reconciling to do.
“It’s a great honour and very humbling but rugby is a team game,” he said.
“It’s unfair to recognise individuals but I could nominate a lot more people from rugby that would be more worthy than me.
“So I think this is more of a recognition for the whole game, so from that perspective it’s great that rugby is being recognised.”
Eales becomes just the 42nd Australian to be bestowed as a Legend — joining an honour roll that includes the likes of Don Bradman, Dawn Fraser, Jack Brabham and Cathy Freeman.
It’s reserved for the best of the best and despite his reluctance, Eales ticks every box to warrant his place among the greats.
He was a member of the Wallabies side that won the World Cup in 1991 and was skipper of the team that won in 1999.
During his 86 Test appearances, he helped the Wallabies win every trophy on offer, including the Bledisloe Cup and the TriNations and a historic series win over the British and Irish Lions.
At times, he made it all look so easy — whether he was winning lineouts or kicking penalty goals — but he was also on the wrong end of two of Australia’s worst ever defeats (43-6 against New Zealand in 1996 and 61-22 against South Africa in 1997).