|
Nick Farr-Jones followed some highly illustrious predecessors at scrum-half in Ken Catchpole (1960-1968) and John Hipwell (1968-1982). Nick was perhaps not as talented as those two legends, but was highly effective all the same and proved to be an inspirational captain. Farr-Jones played his early rugby out of Sydney University and showed the same cool, intelligent decision making on the field as he did in his day job as a lawyer. As one part of the "Holy Trinity" he formed a great three way partnership with Michael Lynagh and David Campese, and it is reckoned that of Campo's 64 international tries, Nick played a hand in at least 46. His debut came in 1984 as part of the famous "Grand Slam" side which toured the UK, and the 22 year old enjoyed a dream introduction to the international game. Playing behind a formidable pack he showed great confidence for a youngster and even chipped in with a try against Scotland in the final test. Further success followed in 1986 when the All Blacks were defeated on their own territory with Nick again in great form. Following Australia's failure at the 1987 World Cup, incumbent skipper Andrew Slack was sacked and the captaincy was given to Nick, still only 25. He tasted victory in his test in charge - a 22-16 win against England in Brisbane and backed it up with another triumph in Sydney. However, Australia suffered a poor year and were hammered by the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup before enduring a pitiful tour of the UK. There was fresh agony to be endured in 1989 when the British Lions beat Australia 2-1 in a series remembered for its rough play. Nick was given a hard time by opposite number Robert Jones in the rubber and some critics started to question his temperament under pressure. (Jon Collins)
|
.
Photo George Herringshaw. ©
| When the All Blacks took a 2-0 lead in the 1990 Bledisloe Cup, Australia were handed the tag of the "Second Woeful Wallabies", and both Nick Farr-Jones and coach Bob Dwyer looked certain for the axe. However, Australia confounded the critics by taking the third test 21-9 after Nick had instructed his men to face out the All Blacks at the Haka. To celebrate, Nick and young centre Tim Horan swam naked in the icy waters of Wellington Harbour! That win gave Australia enormous confidence and this carried over to the 1991 season when they defeated the All Blacks again in Sydney by 21-12. The return match in Auckland was lost 6-3, though Nick reckons that memories of that loss served to motivate the team during the World Cup. Sure enough, Australia made it through to the final of the tournament despite Nick carrying an ongoing injury which lead to him being taken off in the dying minutes against Ireland in a match that the Aussies won at the death thanks to a Michael Lyngah try. The final was a hard fought 12-6 win over hosts England (the picture above shows Nick flicking out a pass despite the close attentions of England forward Micky Skinner), and unlike many Australians, Nick was in no doubt how difficult a task it had been: "We had to tackle till our shoulders were red raw just to keep them out." he would recall. The 1992 season was also highly successful with Nick captaining his side to victory in the Bledisloe Cup and then against South Africa in a one off test in Cape Town. He retired from the international game but was persuaded back for one last series against South Africa the following year. Though no longer captain, Nick drew on all his experience to guide the Wallabies to a 2-1 triumph before hanging up his boots for a second and final time. In total, Farr-Jones played 63 times for Australia, including 36 as captain, and scored nine tries. (Jon Collins) |