Owen Finegan
Owen Finegan
Won Every Trophy on Offer
Owen Finegan was an abrasive lock whose rampaging runs on the fringes of rucks and mauls were his modus operandi. A colossal powerhouse at just shy of 2m tall and 120kg, Owen was big, strong, bruising and especially effective as a replacement running at tired defenders.
In 1996, Owen moved to Canberra for the inaugural season of professional Super Rugby. Four months after his Brumbies debut Owen played his maiden Test for Australia against Wales in Brisbane. Owen went on to become an integral component of many great victories during the golden era for Wallaby rugby including the 1998 3-0 whitewash of New Zealand, Australia’s second Tri Nations’ title in 2001 and the 2001, 2-1 home series triumph over the British & Irish Lions.Â
Owen will forever be remembered for one of the more memorable tries, scored in the final of the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Deep into injury time Australia threw into a lineout 30 metres from the French line. George Gregan was fed the ball ‘off the top’, ran wide and sent an inside flick pass to him, a move they had perfected with the Brumbies. Owen shed the inside defender, set off for the line, appeared to slow and look for an offload to a support player only to then charge on, slip two weak attempts at tackle, and surge through French fullback Xavier Garbajosa to score. With that try victory was sealed and he returned home as a World Champion.