Love what you do not what you did.
John Eales AM is regarded as one of the greatest rugby players Australia has ever produced. His influence extends well beyond his exceptional skill on the field, with a career defined by inspirational leadership, business success and 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 played in two successful Rugby World Cup campaigns, captaining Australia to victory in 1999, and led the Wallabies to three Bledisloe Cup titles, two Tri-Nations victories and a series win over the British and Irish Lions. In 20 Tests against the All Blacks, he was on the winning side 11 times, including six wins from 11 Tests as captain. He remains the highest scoring forward in Test rugby history.
His achievements have been recognised through an extraordinary list of honours, including appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1999, receipt of the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, induction into the Australian Institute of Sport ‘Best of the Best’ in 2001, being named Queenslander of the Year in 2002, and induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2003, the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Wallaby Hall of Fame in 2011. He was elevated to Legend of Australian Sport status by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2020, one of the highest honours in Australian sport, and in 2025 was named an inaugural inductee of the Stadium Australia Hall of Fame. The annual award presented to Australia’s best rugby union player proudly bears his name: the John Eales Medal.
Beyond rugby, John founded the Mettle Group, a consultancy acquired by Chandler Macleod in 2008. He sits on the boards of Flight Centre Travel Group, Fuji Xerox-DMS, Magellan Financial Group and Trajan Group Holdings, and is the author of “Learning from Legends – Sport” and “Learning from Legends – Business”.
John is an in-demand keynote speaker who delivers practical and compelling insights on leadership, teamwork and organisational culture.
Talking Points
Keynotes
John Eales AM is regarded as one of the greatest rugby players Australia has ever produced.Keynotes
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.
Key Themes:
- Resilience
- Composure under pressure
- Leadership with composure
John was excellent , very easy and played along with the 'spoof' introduction a pleasure to work with. ... keep reading Turning Point Solutions
John made our function a complete success - nothing but positive comments. He is an incredible person and I consider myself very fortunate to have met him and spent time with him. I admired his ability to make everyone around him feel important and worthwhile. There are not many opportunities in ones life that you get to meet such a person as John Eales.
