It’s a sign of a truly impressive performance when a Wallaby backrow legend has no option but to single out a centre as his standout player in Round One of the 2016 Super Rugby season.
You’d expect Wallaby Number Six Owen Finegan to nominate somebody like fellow old Wavelarian and Waratahs back rower Jed Holloway, making his first Waratahs appearance since 2013, or impressive young Reds flanker Curtis Browning; perhaps experienced new Melbourne Rebel Adam Thomson, who scored a try on a scintillating debut out West with the number eight on his back.
But the age-old loyal tradition of forwards pumping the tyres of fellow forwards is thrown out the window with a compelling nomination from Wallaby No. 724 Finegan.
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“I was really impressed with (Waratahs centre) David Horwitz,” he says emphatically. “Normally when you play your first game of Super Rugby you’re just keen to make sure you don’t make any mistakes, and rarely do you see blokes in their debut stand out and dominate games, but I thought he was exceptional in the centres.
“He is a really strong attacking player, and handled Samu Kerevi in defence which is no mean feat as Kerevi’s a devastating ball carrier and had a massive amount of line breaks last year. Horwitz defended just as well as he attacked, and it was great to see him showing off his good vision and earmarking himself as a player of the future; he was my pick of the players in action.”
Finegan is speaking with RUPA about not only the first round of Super Rugby action, but just as importantly to raise awareness for a topic very close to his heart as The Kids’ Cancer Project CEO prepares to head to Papua New Guinea for the Kokoda Trek 4 a Cure in just a couple of months’ time.
“The Kokoda Trail is a challenge that has always been on my bucket list,” Finegan explains. “The idea of going over to Kokoda and raising funds and awareness for children with cancer as well as an opportunity to remember the diggers who braved it over 70 years ago is exciting. The kids, like the diggers, overcome amazing odds and suffer through hardship.
“Through the Kids’ Cancer Project, we offer the opportunity for supporters to undertake ‘bucket-list’ treks such as this and raise money for kids with cancer at the same time. Last year alone, we raised more than $1,000,000 through community fundraising and engagement; undertaking my own challenge is because I’ve been inspired by the challenges the children are overcoming and that other members of the community have done to support children with cancer.”
It’s no mean feat; the Kokoda Trail is nearly 100 kilometres of rugged mountainous country, taking you through rainforest, jungles of fern, orchids, birds and clean mountain streams which tumble into steep valleys. 43 year old Finegan, who hung up his boots in 2008 after nearly 150 professional Club games and 56 Wallaby tests, has been hard at it in preparation for the trek.
“Living close to the beaches, I’ve been pounding up and down the hills in Coogee just like the Waratahs used to do when Michael Cheika was their coach,” he says. “The last month or so I’ve been smashing the stairs, and I’ve also done a couple of trips out to the Wanda sand hills; everybody I have asked for advice has said that the fitter you are, the more you will enjoy the trek.
“I’ve also been on the hunt for people who have done it before so I can get some advice. A couple of years ago, (former Wallabies and Brumbies teammate) Joe Roff did it to raise awareness for Lifeline, and I’ve also spoken to Ricky Dumigan who I played with at Randwick; he ran it in 28 hours, which is amazing.
“(Paralympian) Kurt Fearnley did it supporting men’s health, dragging himself across the trail; he’s a double amputee, which is pretty amazing. Everybody knows it is a great challenge, but it will be a fantastic achievement and a great way to raise awareness for The Kids’ Cancer Project.”
The Kids Cancer Project was founded 25 years ago by a bus driver, Col Reynolds, with no links to kids with cancer; he simply stopped his bus outside Westmead Hospital in Camperdown after seeing two bald kids crossing the road and he decided he wanted to do something about it.
Since then, over $29,000,000 has been raised to support childhood cancer research and Col, the 77 year old founder of The Kids’ Cancer Project, is doing the trek alongside Finegan; and so can you!
“The trek is from the 20th to the 30th of May, and there are two ways people can get involved; they can either join the trek and come along with us, or they can donate to my page. Its good timing being close to the end of the financial year, as all donations are tax deductible, and it would be great to get support from ex-players and also from the corporate Rugby supporters to raise funds for a great charity that funds life changing cancer research.”
Click here to connect with Owen Finegan on LinkedIn.
Back to Super Rugby, and Finegan is looking forward to heading down the Hume Highway this Friday for a mouth-watering matchup between the Brumbies and Waratahs.
“I got a Rugby overdose on the weekend; after the Rugby World Cup it was fairly quiet on that front, but I watched both the Australian derbies, saw the Brumbies match and also most of the Jaguares game too,” Finegan laughs.
“The expansion teams were competitive which was great, and the highlight of the round for me was seeing the Brumbies put on a wonderful performance on Friday night. A portion of the Waratah’s performance was on a similar level to the Brumbies, so it’s great to see that sort of form early in the competition and I am looking forward to heading to Canberra this week to see them in action against one another.”
The Kids’ Cancer Project has been solely focused on the fight against kids’ cancers and they will continue to fight tirelessly until they defeat it, because at the Kids’ Cancer Project the belief is that every kid is worth fighting for.
