Russell Fairfax

The ‘golden-haired boy’ of Australian RU in the early 1970s played in 8 Tests against France (1971-72), NZ (1972), Fiji (1972) and Wales and England on the 1973-74 Wallaby Tour before changing codes in 1974. A Souths junior the 21-year old signed with Easts and was an immediate sensation - a talented, intelligent player gifted with a great kick and swerve. Fairfax played for NSW against Great Britain in 1974 and Test honours looked a formality after Easts' grand final victory that year. A shocking leg break suffered in a mid-week Amco Cup match in 1975, however, proved a major setback in his career. Fairfax recovered but never quite seemed able to recapture the magic of that first season. In the final of the 1977 Amco Cup against Wests he scored a miraculous try after a great kick and chase but failed to kick the goal and the Magpies held on to win by a point. When his career faded Fairfax played a season with Souths before becoming a lower grade coach with the club. In 1990 he returned to Easts as first grade coach but the move was not a success and he was sacked toward the end of the year. He has since taken on a career as a sports reporter with FoxSports.