John Eales AM is regarded as one of the greatest rugby players Australia has ever produced. His outstanding qualities extend much further than his exceptional skill on the football field. He is an inspirational leader and businessman through both his actions and his relentless determination.
John’s sense of fair play and genial nature made him one of the most respected figures in the game, and an extraordinary ambassador for sport and Australia.
He debuted for the Wallabies in 1991 and captained the side from 1996 until the end of his test career in 2001. He participated in two successful World Cup campaigns, captaining the latter in 1999, and led Australia through three Bledisloe Cup, two Tri- Nations and a British and Irish Lions series victory. In 20 tests against the All Blacks he was on the winning side 11 times, and also won 6 of his 11 tests against them as captain.
He was inducted into the Sports Australia Hall of Fame, the World Rugby Hall of Fame, the Australia Institute of Sport’s Best of the Best, awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1999 for services to the community and rugby.
John was the founder of the Mettle Group, a consultancy which was acquired by Chandler Macleod in 2007, and sits on the boards of Flight Centre Travel Group, Fuji Xerox-DMS, Magellan Financial Group. He has been an occasional lecturer at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney and is the author of “Learning from Legends - Sport” and “Learning from Legends - Business”.
John is an in-demand keynote speaker, delivering invaluable messages on leadership, teamwork and culture within an organisation.
