Owen Finegan was born 22 April 1972 in Sydney, the talented forward could play as a flanker or lock.
Nicknamed "Melon" because of his large head, Finegan was an embracive character on the field and represented the Wallabies a total of 55 times scoring 6 tries. He made his international debut against Wales in 1996 despite having ankle and knee reconstructions, plus operations on both shoulders. He was an integral part of the Wallabies’ success over the following decade.
He was a key performer for the ACT Brumbies from their inception in the Super Rugby competition in 1996, joining from Randwick Rugby Club. Finegan played in 90 Super Rugby matches for the Brumbies, helping them to two titles, including captaining them to their 2004 triumph and scoring a Super 12 record 31 tries for a forward.
The undoubted highlight of Finegan's career came in 1999 when he scored an injury time try as Australia won the Rugby World Cup.
Finegan was named Australia's player of the year in 2001 and was controversially not picked by the Wallabies for the 2003 World Cup.
In 2005 he signed for English club Newcastle Falcons for two seasons but was subsequently released after one year. Finegan played the 2006/7 season in Dublin with Bective Rangers and the Irish province Leinster, where he was coached by his former Randwick boss and teammate, Michael Cheika.
Finegan signed for English Rugby Union team Leicester Tigers on a short-term 5-month contract as cover during the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He featured in many pre-season games and started the first game of the season against Bristol Rugby before picking up a groin injury which prevented him from making any more appearances.
In 2008 Finegan returned to the Brumbies as Assistant Coach.
Finegan is currently the CEO of Children's Cancer Project Australia.
JW April 2017
Career
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Australia Blindside Flanker |
1996 - 2003 |
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ACT Brumbies Blindside Flanker |
1996 - 2005 |
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Newcastle Falcons Blindside Flanker |
2005 - 2006 |
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Leinster Rugby Blindside Flanker |
2006 - 2007 |
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Leicester Tigers Blindside Flanker |
2007 - 2007 |
