Nick Farr-Jones
Nicholas Campbell Farr-Jones AM (born 18 April 1962) is a former Australian rugby union footballer. His position was scrum-half. Farr-Jones debuted for the Australia national rugby union team during the 1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, during which the Australia won the grand slam of rugby union when they defeated all four Home Nations (England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland). He was voted "Player of the Series" for the 1986 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand, during which Australia became the sixth team in history to win a rugby Test series in New Zealand. He was appointed captain of the Wallabies prior to the commencement of their 1988 international season. He is probably best remembered for captaining Australia to their the 1991 Rugby World Cup. Farr-Jones retired as captain of Australia after a victory against South Africa in 1992 and temporarily ceased playing international rugby. He came out of retirement in 1993 for the single Bledisloe Cup Test and a three-Test home series against South Africa, following which he retired from international rugby. He now works at Taurus Funds Management, appears as a TV rugby commentator on UK Sky Sports and is the chairman of the New South Wales Rugby Union.
| Birth name | Nicholas Campbell Farr-Jones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 18 April 1962 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Caringbah, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Newington College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Sydney University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
He attended Newington College (1974–1979)[1] and St Andrew's College within the University of Sydney. Not selected for the First XV at Newington,[2] Farr-Jones played his early first grade rugby for Sydney University and worked as a lawyer when rugby was an amateur sport.
Rugby
Selected for the 1984 tour of Europe, he made his international début for the Wallabies on 3 November 1984 against England at Twickenham, which Australia won 19-3 and quickly established himself as a regular in the test side from then on, scoring his first try in the final test against Scotland. After playing in the 1986 Bledisloe Cup series win against the All Blacks, he played in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and a year later was named Australian captain, at the age of 25. By this stage Farr-Jones was known as one part of Australia's "holy trinity" with David Campese and Michael Lynagh. Indeed, of Campese's then world record 64 international tries, Farr-Jones had a hand in 46 of them.
His captaincy started well, with two test home series win against England but Australia were well beaten in the 1988 Bledisloe and in 1989 lost the series to the British Lions. During this period his temperament under pressure was questioned and he was frequently tested by the opposition. One incident involved his opponent Robert Jones, who in an effort to unsettle him, stamped a studded boot onto the top of Farr-Jones' right foot, which had recently been injured.
More pressure followed in 1990 after the Wallabies were down 2–0 in the Bledisloe series it seemed certain he would lose the captaincy, but the side won the final test 21–9 in Wellington and he celebrated with a naked swim in Wellington Harbour. The 1991 Bledisloe series was closely fought, ending in a tie and the Wallabies arrived in the British Isles in good form for the World Cup. He carried a knee injury into the tournament, where he was rested for the pool game against Samoa and substituted in the quarter-final midway through the second-half with what looked like a serious injury. After that nail biting finish he was back for the semi-final against New Zealand and the final, won by Australia, of which he said "We had to tackle till our shoulders were red raw just to keep them out.”
He was also instrumental in 1992 for the Wallabies, with wins over the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup and the Springboks in Cape Town, a win that ended doubts over the Wallabies claim to be the best team in the world. He briefly retired from the sport at this stage but was persuaded back for the final two homes tests against South Africa in 1993, after Australia lost the opening match in the series.
Farr-Jones was capped 63 times for Australia, including 36 as captain (then a world record), and he scored nine tries. During his career, he formed a world record half-back combination with Michael Lynagh of 47 tests together.
Personal life
Farr-Jones is a self-described "praying" Christian[3] and speaks publicly about his faith.[4] He is married with four children.[5] The Liberal Party of Australia considered asking Farr-Jones to stand as their candidate in a potential byelection in the marginal parliamentary Division of Wentworth.[6]
Honours
- 1992 Australia Day Honours: Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of service to the sport of Rugby Union football.[7][8]
- 2001: Centenary Medal for service to Australian society through the sport of Rugby Union[9]
Awards
- 1999: Inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame
- 2008: Inducted into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame
- 2011: Inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame alongside all other Rugby World Cup-winning captains and head coaches from the tournament's inception in 1987 through 2007 (minus the previously inducted John Eales)[10]
References
- Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998 (Syd, 1999) pp62
- Schmidt, Lucinda (19 May 2010). "Profile - Phil Kearns". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- "ABC Television - ABCNEWS24 - Inside Edge - Nick Farr-Jones - 8:30pm Thursday, December 27 2012". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- "Nick Farr-Jones". www.acc.edu.au. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- "At Home with Nick Farr-Jones". Living Local. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- CORRESPONDENT, Phillip Coorey CHIEF POLITICAL (15 April 2010). "Libs try out Farr-Jones for seat of Wentworth". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- "Australia Day Honours". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 25 January 1992. p. 10. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- It's an Honour Retrieved 11 September 2012
- It's an Honour Retrieved 11 September 2012
- "RWC legends inducted into IRB Hall of Fame" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.