Calrossy CommunityAn afternoon of Rugby for our community.
Spotlight on our guest speaker Owen Finegan!
Owen is joining us for our first Calrossy Foundation Fundraiser on the 25th March 2022. All monies raised will be contributed to our Building Fund in anticipation of our latest release of our Calrossy Masterplan focussing on bettering the facilities for our regional students.
Born in Sydney of Irish parents, Owen Finegan was an abrasive lock / flanker 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, Finegan was big, strong, bruising and especially effective as a replacement running at tired defenders. In 1993 he was chosen for Australian U21s and a year later made his New South Wales debut against Southland in Invercargill.
After just six Waratah games over two seasons Finegan moved to Canberra for the inaugural season of professional Super Rugby. Four months after his Brumbies debut Finegan played his maiden Test for Australia against Wales in Brisbane. Finegan 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.
He 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 Finegan, a move they had perfected with the Brumbies. Finegan 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 Finegan returned home as a World Champion.Owen Finegan played 55 Tests for Australia in an eight-year international career.
Owen is now the CEO of Kids Cancer Project where they support the funding of about 30 research projects across 20 different institutions in Australia, supporting bold scientists to come up with better treatments and survival strategies for kids with childhood cancer.
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