- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
We sat down with former Wallabies captain Nick Farr-Jones as he reflected on some of the low points in his career with the national team.
Farr-Jones expressed his belief that a captain’s position should always be secure.
“I wouldn’t like to captain a team where your selection is in the balance. When I was playing in the 80s and 90s, on tour the captain was a selector,” he said.
One of his toughest stretches came during July and August in 1990.
“Probably the worst year I had in my ten years with the Wallabies was the first half of 1990. That included a six-week tour to New Zealand,” he said.
The Wallabies struggled against the All Blacks, dropping the first match 21-6 in Christchurch and the second 27-17 in Auckland. Farr-Jones began to wonder if his position was at risk.
“The first half of that tour I wasn’t on top of my game. The guy behind me was playing well… before the selection committee for the third Test, when it came to number nine, Bob Dwyer said, ‘well, there’s no discussion.’ I actually put up my hand and said, are you sure?”
Australia managed to take a much-needed 21-9 victory in Wellington. Farr-Jones felt that the win was a catalyst for change in the national team.
“We won in Wellington, which was probably the most important Test that I played in my 65 Tests that I played. That was critical to turning around the culture, the belief, the mental spirit and toughness of our team,” he said.
Fresh off the success, he returned home and expressed his concerns about the state of the captaincy.
“I came back from that tour and said to the chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union, ‘I felt uncomfortable being a selector.’ I don’t believe captains should be a selector, and it changed from then on,” he said.
Watch the segment in the player above, or check out the interview in full here.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.