Queensland and Wallabies legend John Eales to be immortalised with statue at Suncorp Stadium
Former Queensland and Wallabies captain John Eales will be immortalised in bronze as the next statue at Suncorp Stadium.
The striking statue will capture second rower Eales being lifted by another player as he catches a lineout ball.
The design will allow fans to pose for pictures, holding Eales’ legs and helping to “lift” in the lineout.
Sculpted by artist Liam Hardy, who created the Mal Meninga and Arthur Beetson statues at the northern end of the stadium, the statue is planned to be unveiled at the southern end before the Wallabies September Test Match against South Africa.
The statue has been commissioned by the Queensland Rugby Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Queensland Rugby Union, with support from Stadiums Queensland, AEG Ogden and the Queensland Government.
Eales said he was humbled by the recognition.
“This is an incredible honour, but I think it’s more about recognising the contribution the game has made than anything I’ve done,” he said.
“It’s also a recognition of the joy and excitement our game has brought to millions of Queenslanders.”
Queensland Minister for Sport Michael de Brenni said Eales was the perfect choice to commemorate Rugby’s contribution to Suncorp Stadium.
“He was the captain of the first Wallabies team to play at this venue, against the All Blacks in 1996,” he said.
“John Eales is a Rugby legend, and we are very proud of him for all he has achieved for Queensland, Australia and in the community.
“This bronze statue will ensure he will be at Suncorp Stadium forever, and it is nothing less than John deserves for all he has done for his State and his country.”
QRU Chairman Jeff Miller said: “I was privileged to play with John in both the Reds and the Wallabies and you would be hard pressed to find a better ambassador for our game.
“As a player he was a phenomenally gifted and courageous athlete, but he also possessed an uncompromising sense of fair play which epitomises Rugby Union.
“He is the stand-out player of the modern era associated with Suncorp Stadium.”
Sculptor Liam Wright said the statue presented several challenges over the existing league statues.
“We wanted to make this a distinctly Rugby statue, so a lineout is the perfect choice,” he said.
“Having the torso of a lifter, as well as a life-size two-metre-tall John Eales means we are using a lot more bronze than the existing statues. This means a lot more care in the structure of the statue.
“In the final statue the lifting player won’t be recognisable. It could be, and in a way is, every player who has played the game.
“I’m also very excited about how interactive this statue is going to be. In the same way everyone wants to stand next to Wally Lewis’ statue, I think every Rugby fan is going to want to help ‘lift’ John’s statue.”
The statue is being part funded by donations to the Queensland Rugby Foundation, and replaces “The Scrum” monument which was proposed in 2015.
John Eales biography
John Eales has 86 Test caps for the Wallabies, 55 as captain, and was capped 109 times for Queensland, 16 as captain, in an 11-year career.
He is one of only five Australians to have won two Rugby World Cups, captaining the victorious 1999 side, and led Queensland to two Super Rugby championships.
In July 1996, he captained the Wallabies during their first Test at Lang Park (now Suncorp Stadium) losing to the All Blacks in the final minutes 32-25.
He also captained the Wallabies to a 32-20 win over South Africa at Suncorp Stadium in 1997 and an historic 76-nil drubbing of England, in 1998 at the same venue.
Eales is the highest scoring Test forward in history with 173 points, all but nine of them – one four-point and one five-point try – coming from his kicking.
Eales scored 611 points for Queensland, 10 tries, 101 conversions and 121 penalties.
In 1999 he was named a member of Queensland’s Team of the Century.
He was the 2002 Queenslander of the Year, is a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to the community and Rugby and a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
The Wallabies’ player’s player award is the John Eales Medal.
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