You are articulate, intelligent and privileged, why would you choose the rough and tumble of rugby union?
That is the magic of the game that crosses over all demographics and levels of society. Moreso in New Zealand than Australia, where you can have the local farmer lined up with an urbane character like David Kirk.
Why would you want to be found at the bottom of an All Blacks ruck with those nasty sprigs flying around when you could be playing golf, tennis or perhaps polo?
It would be interesting to ask someone like Nick Farr-Jones what it is about rugby union that he found so appealing, was it the camaraderie? The strategizing? The physicality?
Why run the risk of serious injury to play a game? Much will depend on what school you went to and what was the prevailing sport played there.
If you go to a rugby school there is a high chance you will follow your mates and fatherly influences in what sport you play. Some of us having enough talent to attain the lofty status of a First XV player.
Farr-Jones attended Newington College in Sydney from 1974 to 1979 and surprisingly did not play for the First XV but captained the Second XV in the size-applicable position of halfback.
He professed a great love for school and he had an enjoyable time there.
From a young age, he learnt to follow his passion and pursue what he truly loved, following in the footsteps of his grandfather who was a successful lawyer.
Nick Farr-Jones of Anzacs in action during the British Lions tour to Australia. (Credit: Russell Cheyne /Allsport)
He also admires people like Alan Jones who dreamt big and established a formidable broadcasting career, later going on to coach the Grand Slam Australians in 1984, of which Farr-Jones was a member.
Outside rugby, Farr-Jones has built an admirable corporate career in both law and finance, spending 25 years in the mining industry with Societe General, for which he has great respect.
On the Australian Christian College podcast, he states that:
“We all rely on mined commodities. Sometimes people paint them as bad, but every commodity that’s mined goes into these things, and I’m holding up an iPhone, into your television, into your electricity, into your car, into every aspect of life, whether it’s gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, tin, cobalt, your coke and cole goes into the steel production, your iron ore goes into your steel production, your thermal coal goes into your energy that goes into our iPhones and our computers, people forget that, and it’s a fascinating sector.”
Farr-Jones was born in 1962 in Caringbah New South Wales and also attended Sydney University in later years.
He built an enviable rugby career with chief highlights being series wins over the All Blacks and the 1991 Rugby World Cup win as captain. The Aussie stating the omission of All Black Wayne “Buck” Shelford in that tournament was a mistake.
Farr-Jones’ statistics include 63 caps for Australia, 36 as captain and he formed a world record combination with Michael Lynagh as a halfback combination.
The mateship and captaincy being personal highlights of his rugby career, is that our answer to the above question?
Nick Farr-Jones. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
He is recognised for being a Christian, which he followed himself without any parental influence.
Nick never was one to hassle fellow players over his beliefs, it was more a case of heartfelt debates and discussions. But he did feature in the media with his support for the maligned Wallaby Israel Folau.
As with many prominent sportspeople, Nick Farr-Jones had a huge desire to win and to perform to his absolute best.
He once had a chat with Sir Edmund Hillary who advised him that: “to get to the top you need a team around you, preparation, discipline, courage and focus, he never looked up at the mountain but just put one foot in front of the other”.
In a rugby sense, the same could be said, don’t look up at the scoreboard.
Farr-Jones has been scathing in his opinions of rugby today and compares his amateur days to professionalism, stating on rugbypass.com:
“I focus on life, family, my work, friends. If I focused on rugby I would be depressed because, for the last 20 years, it hasn’t been a great story. Our development pathways haven’t been well managed by the (Rugby Australia) board, they’re dreadful. Until you start to win and build it so young kids know who the players are and want to be like them, get people interested in the game, I’m not sure about our future.”
How true.
Nick Farr-Jones was one of the great leaders of Australian rugby – and one who was even widely respected by All Blacks supporters.
He led in a sure, confident manner which filtered down to create motivated players.
NFJ is a true ambassador for rugby union.
