Queensland Rugby inducts three legends to Hall of Fame
Dual international and Olympic Gold Medallist Tom ‘Rusty’ Richards, 1960s stalwart Alec Evans and dual Rugby World Cup winner Jason Little have become the latest members of the Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) Hall of Fame following an induction ceremony at the St.George Queensland Reds Gala Ball tonight.
The trio were selected from a shortlist of 38 nominees to join a growing number of former greats recognised for their contributions of the game. The QRU Hall of Fame now features 17 members, including household names Mark Loane, Andrew Slack, Michael Lynagh and John Eales.
The Queensland Rugby Union Hall of Fame was introduced in 2013, in conjunction with its 130-year celebrations. Each year, a selection panel choose a number of inductees based on the following selection criteria – the person must have played and/or coached for Queensland, been retired from Queensland for 10 years and have made an overall contribution to the game.
The selection panel consists of Rod McCall (Queensland Rugby Chairman), Andrew Slack (Queensland Rugby Vice-President), John Ryan (Queensland Rugby Life Member and former Queensland Team Manager), John Connolly (former Queensland and Wallabies Coach), Wayne Smith (Rugby writer for The Australian) and Jim Tucker (Rugby writer for the Courier Mail). Rugby historian, Ian Diehm, is the advisor to the panel throughout the selection process.
QRU Chairman Rod McCall said: “Following the announcement of our inaugural Hall of Fame inductees in 2013, I am pleased that the committee has added another three legends of the game in Queensland to the Hall of Fame.
“Tom Richards has a lasting legacy as the only player to have represented both Australia and the British & Irish Lions. He also served our country with honour during the First World War.
“Alec Evans was one of the best front rowers of his generation and his ability as a coach has seen many teams benefit from his insight into the game. The dominance of the Wallaby forward pack in the 1984 Grand Slam and the 1986 Bledisloe Cup can be directly attributed to Alec’s guidance.
“I was fortunate to have played with Jason Little for many years. Probably one of the finest athletes to have donned the Reds and Wallaby jerseys having also represented Australia at junior level in athletics and cricket. Jason’s combination with Darling Downs teammate Tim Horan was arguably the best centre pairing Queensland and Australian Rugby have seen.
“These three greats of the game truly deserve to be elevated into the Queensland Rugby Hall of Fame.”
Tom ‘Rusty’ Richards
Born the same year as Queensland Rugby, 1882, at Vegetable Creek to British immigrants during the Gold Rush, Tom Richard’s love of Rugby began when the touring New South Wales side visited his home at Charters Towers. Nicknamed ‘Rusty’, the tall, broad flanker went on to represent Queensland, Transvaal, Bristol, Toulouse, the British & Irish Lions as well as the Wallabies, Kangaroos and Australia at the 1908 Olympics in London, all before enlisting in the AIF in 1914. As a remarkably accomplished athlete, with an Olympic Gold Medal among his many Rugby trophies, Richard’s military career continued his impressive pedigree.
On the 25th of April 1915, ‘Rusty’ landed at Gallipoli. Serving as a stretcher bearer, he took only six weeks to be commended for ‘conspicuous acts of gallantry’. Upon the withdrawal from the Turkish peninsular, he was shipped to the deadly Western Front, where he was commissioned Second Lieutenant before joining the 1st Infantry Battalion. During the Battle of Arras in France he led a 19-man bombing party and earned himself a Military Cross for ‘conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty’.
His devotion became only more assured when he was twice evacuated to London with serious injuries from bomb blasts, returning each time to the cold wet trenches of central France.
The outstanding military career capped off a remarkable sporting one, and, returning home safely in 1919, Richards has since been inducted into the Wallabies Hall of Fame, and remains one of the greatest men to have represented Queensland. The Mustard Gas he inhaled during The Great War took almost 20 years to kill him. Short of breath, though void of regrets, he died in Queensland in 1935, surrounded by his family. His numerous and varied achievements are still celebrated every 12 years when the British & Irish Lions compete against the Wallabies for the Tom Richards Cup.
Alec Evans
Playing: Evans played consecutively for 11 years from his debut in 1959, then returned (although only for a single game) in 1973. A product of Souths Rugby Club, Evans was 20 years old when he first represented Queensland. His 62 games stood as a record for the state for decades. He was first picked for the Wallabies for the 1962 tour of New Zealand, but spent the trip bedridden with illness and didn’t play a game. In 1965, playing the Springboks in Brisbane, Evans dedication and passion was illustrated as his dislocated arm was lashed to his side before he retook the field and completed the game.
Coaching: After retiring from playing, Evans went on to become an international coach. His role in the 1984 Wallabies Grand Slam tour of the United Kingdom is undeniable. It was the first Wallabies side to return with victories over all four host nations. He became the first non-Welshman to coach Wales when appointed the role ahead of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Remaining in the UK with Cardiff RFC, Evans returned home to coach Gordon RFC’s First XV in Sydney, and then back to Ballymore as Queensland’s Scrum Technical Advisor. Assisting the Wallabies in their 2007 World Cup preparations, Evans also took up coaching Queensland Premier Rugby sides. He took Wests, Gold Coast Breakers and his old club Souths to premiership victories. Evans’ career ended on a high after playing a role in Queensland’s 2011 Premiership win. His contributions to the game are recognised annually with the awarding of the Alec Evans Medal to the Queensland Premier Rugby Player of the Year.
Jason Little
Born in Dalby, Jason Little made his debut for Queensland in 1989 and went on to earn 107 Queensland Caps. He made his Test debut at the age of 19 against France in 1989 on the Australian tour to Europe. In three quarters of his Caps, he partnered with Tim Horan, his Darling Downs juniors teammate who was also his partner at Souths Rugby in Brisbane in the late 1980s and also for the Queensland Reds.
Together he and Horan composed a fearsome centre partnership for Australia which came to the fore during the 1991 Rugby World Cup, won by Australia. The pair were widely regarded as the best centres in the world through the early 1990s, adding the Bledisloe Cup to their collection in 1992. Little won 75 Caps playing at centre for Australia between 1989 and 2000 captaining the side on one occasion. He retired with two Rugby World Cup winners medals from the 1991 and 1999 tournaments.
Having retired from playing, he undertook a course in Land Management at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. He now lives on the North Shore in Sydney with his wife Brigitte and three children.
| Queensland Rugby Union Hall of Fame | ||||
| Name | Queensland Rep Years |
Queensland Debut |
Test Caps | Wallabies Captaincies |
| Austin Gralton | 1880s/1890s | 1893 | 3 | – |
| Arthur Hickson | 1880/1890s | 1882 | – | – |
| Phil Carmichael | 1900s | 1903 | 4 | – |
| Tom Richards | 1908 | 1908 | 3 (Aus) 2 (British & Irish Lions) |
– |
| Jimmy Flynn | 1910s | 1912 | 2 | 1 |
| Tom Lawton Snr | 1920/1930s | 1919 | 14 | 7 |
| Eddie Bonis | 1920s | 1929 | 21 | – |
| Des Connor | 1950/1960s | 1954 | 12 (Aus) 12 (NZ) |
2 for Aus 1 for All Blacks |
| Alec Evans | 1950s-1970s | 1959 | – | – |
| Mark Loane | 1970/1980s | 1973 | 28 | 6 |
| Paul McLean | 1970/1980s | 1973 | 31 | 1 |
| Tony Shaw | 1970s/1980s | 1973 | 36 | 15 |
| Andrew Slack | 1970s/1980s | 1975 | 39 | 19 |
| Michael Lynagh | 1980/1990s | 1982 | 72 | 15 |
| Jason Little | 1980s – 2000s | 1989 | 75 | 1 |
| Tim Horan | 1990s | 1990 | 80 | 1 |
| John Eales | 1990/2000s | 1990 | 86 | 55 |
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