John Eales
Rugby
Quick brains needed to fast-foot it with lucid Lions
John Eales Joel Goldberg, a former psychological and recruitment assessor for the New York Giants and New Jersey Nets, maintains that among the most important assessable attributes of an athlete are fast feet...
Rugby
A respectful roar for the Lions
John Eales There is fine line between good-natured banter and offensive taunts, writes former Wallaby captain John Eales.
Rugby
Tale of Tahs, Brumbies and ... Wallabies
John Eales Know your story, tell it well and tell it often.
Rugby
Dilemma putting a Smith up against the Jones boys
John Eales Fifteen reds, 10 whites, nine greens and only three blues. No Jonny Wilkinson either, but no real surprise there, although sentiment can sometimes trump realism, age and form when picking a team...
John Eales
Speed trumps precision in Reds v Brumbies
John Eales The expressions on the players' faces at the end of the Reds and Brumbies 19-all draw on Saturday night revealed neither joy nor relief, or even a hint of satisfaction.
Rugby
For Reds and Brumbies, fortune's in their own hands
John Eales Having filled out many lengthy health insurance questionnaires I'm surprised they don't ask which sports team you follow.
John Eales
Don’t believe the romantic myths of rugby consistency
John Eales The conception of romance is subjective. A common man’s view may suggest it is conceived with dessert and what happens there afterwards whereas, a woman’s view will invoke the aperitifs, entrée, main...
John Eales
What rugby union can learn from league
John Eales In the 1970s, although he never specified any particular hierarchy, one of the old Marist Brothers at my school used to list three evils in the world: rugby league, communism and Christian Brothers.
John Eales
HK Sevens party kitted up for Olympic status
John Eales What do animal cloning and rugby Sevens have in common? It’s not a vet pharmacologist, it’s that they both originated in Scotland: cloning through Dolly the sheep; and Sevens in Melrose in 1883.
John Eales
Team culture and the 'we, me' call to arms
John Eales A friend of mine believes that all boys need are cuddles, a kick up the backside and food – but he doesn’t indicate how much of each and in what order.
Rugby
A great coach needs more than just winning ways
John Eales Despite at times vastly different personalities, the best coaches are typically more similar than they are different – they have to be.
Rugby
Waratahs need to get priorities right
John Eales Do old habits die hard or are new habits just so hard to form? Is there a difference? One thing’s for sure, if you have to break an old habit to move to a desired habit it’s compounded and probably...
John Eales
Kicking off is the easy bit
John Eales Years ago, as I scratched for some advice after a friend's break-up, I said: "Mate, it's not the one you start with that counts, it's the one you end up with that matters.
John Eales
Ref cam, a new view on rugby
John Eales There used to be a saying among Parisians that the best view of Paris was from La Tour Eiffel. This wasn't hatched as praise for the magnificence of Gustave Eiffel's creation for the 1889 World's...
John Eales
Critical misjudgments cost Wallabies famous win
John Eales One of the tributes at a mate’s 50th on Friday night suggested there was just one glass of wine between him being boring and being interesting – although it wasn’t clear who should be the one to...
John Eales
Different strategy needed against All Blacks
John Eales There were two really important victories for Australian rugby over the weekend, both cliffhangers. The first occurred in Auckland, where the Australian Schoolboys, in a composed and expansive...
John Eales
Why high altitude is no place for a bad attitude
John Eales It's been a tough week for the Wallabies. A lot tougher than it should have been, even considering it doesn't get much harder than playing the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld, a venue where they have...
Opinion
Not perfect, but Wallabies show signs of improvement
John Eales In Australian sport there are a few coaches who transcend their codes. Wayne Bennett is one, Rod Macqueen another, Ric Charlesworth actually moved between codes, and in AFL, Kevin Sheedy fits the...
John Eales
Pumas show commitment is in their DNA
John Eales If you were to construct the perfect rugby team, they would play with the everlasting commitment of the Argentinian Pumas.
Rugby
When courage is not enough
John Eales Before the Eden Park Bledisloe Test in Auckland at the weekend the All Blacks reverted to their own haka, Kapa O Pango.
