Owen Finegan

Owen Finegan

Personal information
Full name	Owen Finegan
Date of birth	22 April 1972 (1972-04-22) (age 39)
Place of birth	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight	18 st 12 lbs (120 kg)
Nickname(s)	Melon
School(s) attended	Waverley College
Youth clubs
Years	Club
	Randwick Rugby Club & Waverley Rugby Club
Senior clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (points)
1996 ‐ 05 2005 ‐ 06 2006 ‐ 07 2007 ‐ 07	ACT Brumbies Newcastle Falcons Leinster Leicester Tigers	90 (155) 1 (0)
Representative teams
	Australia	56
* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only.

Owen Finegan (born 22 April 1972 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian international rugby union player who plays as a flanker or lock. He is nicknamed "Melon" because of his large head.

He was a key performer for the ACT Brumbies from their inception in 1996, joining from Randwick Rugby Club. Finegan played in 90 Super 12 matches for the Brumbies and was one of three remaining foundation players in the 2005 squad. He has helped them to two titles, including captaining them to their 2004 triumph, and scoring a Super 12 record 31 tries for a forward.

He made his international debut against Wales in 1996 and went on to win 56 caps despite having ankle and knee reconstructions, plus operations on both shoulders. He was an integral part of the Wallabies’ success over following decade and was named in the Wallaby team of the first professional decade in 2005.

The undoubted highlight of Finegan's career came in 1999 when he scored an injury time try as Australia won the Rugby World Cup.

Australia's player of the year in 2001, Finegan was controversially not picked by the Wallabies for the 2003 World Cup on home soil.

In 2005 he signed with English club Newcastle Falcons for two seasons, but was subsequently released after one year. Finegan played the 2006/7 season in Dublin with 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.^[1]

In 2008 Finegan returned to the ACT Brumbies as Assistant Coach.

Finegan, at one time played for Waverley Rugby Club.

Finegan is also an Ambassador for the White Ribbon Foundation, an organisation committed to the elimination of violence against women.

References

1. ^ http://www.tigers.co.uk/9660_8982.php

External links

• Leicester profile
• Newcastle Falcons profile

Persondata
Name	Finegan, Owen
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	22 April 1972
Place of birth	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Date of death
Place of death