John EALES

The famous motto of the Ferrari Formula One team is "There is no such thing as perfection - only the evolution towards it." Probably true, but if anyone in the history of international rugby has come close to achieving perfection as player and captain it is John Eales, not only in terms of his play but because of his impeccable sportsmanship and conduct off the field. Indeed, John was once famously nicknamed "Nobody" by a teammate, not due to any lack of charisma on the part of the Queensland lock, but because as we all know - "Nobody's Perfect". The media latched onto the monniker and recycled it for years to come, but John being the man he is came to loathe the tag. He made his test debut at the age of 21 and went on to enjoy a ten year long career in Australian colours, winning everything the game has to offer, including victory against the British Lions, the Bledisloe Cup, the Tri Nations tournament and of course the World Cup, on not one, but two occasions. John possessed everything and more - height, strength, athleticism, technical skills in the lineout and scrum as well as the ability to kick and handle the ball. He was also an inspirational leader and an ideal role model to Australians in all walks of life. His first game in a gold jumper came at Ballymore in 1991 against an inadequate Welsh touring outfit at a point when the Wallaby juggernaught was just beginning to gather speed. The game was a mismatch as the visitors were buried 63-6, John personally winning 13 out of 20 successful Australian lineouts.

Next up was England who were coming in on the back of a Grand Slam, by they too were dispatched with ease - 40-15, with John totally dominating his opposite number Martin Bayfield. New Zealand legend Colin Meads was watching that match and John's performance led him to make a very accurate prediction: "He could be anything, and a force at this level for ten years." After the Bledisloe Cup, the Australians headed for the UK to challenge for the World Cup and were placed in a group with Western Samoa, Argentina and Wales. The Wallabies took a couple of games to get their act together and John was even used at Number 8 in the Argentina match as Bob Dwyer shuffled his pack. However, the 38-3 victory against Wales proved something of a turning point and John and his partner Rod McCall totally dominated up front, winning an astonishing 28 out of 30 lineouts. Australia then advanced to the final where England were again the opponents, though the home side proved a tougher nut to crack with their barnstorming, if reckless, quest to win the trophy. John found life in the lineout hard against Wade Dooley and Paul Ackford, but he made his mark on the match with a phenomenal try saving tackle deep in the second-half. Eales recalled of that moment "Months later people would come up to me in a restaurant and say 'Look, I'll never forget that tackle you made on Will Carling' or 'I'll never forget that tackle you made on Jeremy Guscott', and they'll always name someone other than Rob Andrew!" The game was won 12-6, and so ended a dream introduction to international rugby. However, the best was yet to come... (Jon Collins)

With encounters against both New Zealand and South Africa on the schedule, the 1992 season gave Australia an excellent opportunity to consolidate their achievements of 1991. First up though were warm up matches against Scotland, and John scored his first test try in the second test in Brisbane. Then it was the All Blacks who were smarting after two heavy defeats against the Wallabies the year before. The series was a closely fought 2-1 triumph for Australia, with Eales once again coming up against old rival Ian Jones, a man he regarded as his trickiest international opponent. With the Bledisloe safely tucked under their belts, Australia then flew into Cape Town for a one off test with South Africa and were greeted by arrogant boasts from the home fans.

Indeed, the South Africans were certain that they would simply pick up where they had left off in 1969 and 1971 when they had beaten Australia in seven tests out of seven, and one banner in the crowd read "One minute's silence for a skinned Wallaby!". However , with John and David Campese in outstanding form, the Springboks were given a lesson in modern rugby and were trounced 26-3, their biggest ever defeat. Australia ended the year with a tour to the British Isles which incorporated visits to Ireland and Wales. Unfortunately, during a match with Llanelli, John suffered a career threatening shoulder injury which not only ruled him out of the rest of that tour but the entire 1993 season as well. Worries that he would not play again for Australia proved unfounded and he turned out for six tests in 1994, including easy series wins against Italy and Ireland and a dramatic 20-16 victory against New Zealand in Sydney. His fitness and confidence restored, John then set his sights on helping Australia defend their World crown in South Africa in 1995.

With rumours abound regarding the potential riches available in professional rugby, many of Australia's top players appeared to have their minds elsewhere during the 1995 World Cup and the Wallaby campaign was lacklustre to say the least. Indeed, John was one of the few Aussie big guns to fire in that tournament and he supplemented his lineout work with accurate spot kicking in the Romania match when he deputised for Michael Lynagh. Australia's tournament then ended in a seesaw quarter-final battle with England in Pretoria which was decided by Rob Andrew's last minute drop goal. The season concluded on a low note with defeat by New Zealand in the Tri-Nations. Come the 1996 season, skipper Lynagh had retired and John was handed the captain's armband, probably one of the best decisions Australian rugby officialdom has ever made.

However, John's first important match in charge was the stuff of nightmares - an opening Tri Nations hammering by the hands of the All Blacks in Dunedin. The game was lost by an unbelievable margin of 43-6, the biggest beating Australia had taken from a fellow senior board nation. Following that rout, Australia gathered themselves to beat the South Africans 21-16 in Sydney. Eales would later say of that match: "To be able to come back the next week and beat South Africa who were on a run of fifteen straight victories, they were the current world champions - that would have to be one of my best moments of rugby." Australia then nearly achieved the "impossible" by coming within a whisker of beating the All Blacks in the return match in Brisbane, only to go down 32-25 in the dyeing minutes. With the Tri-Nations over, John guided the Wallabies through an unbeaten tour of Europe which saw victories over Italy, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, the latter match David Campese's international farewell. (Jon Collins)