The Board of Directors is delighted to announce the appointment of Owen Finegan as a Director of The Rugby Club Foundation. Owen fills the casual vacancy arising from the resignation of longstanding director Ron Latham.

Widely respected within the community generally and recognised as being a highly intelligent and dynamic individual, Owen possesses a broad range of experience, skills and qualifications. His qualifications include a Masters in Education (Coach Education) from the University of Sydney, a Bachelor of Business (International Business & Finance) from Southern Cross University and a Graduate Diploma in Project Management from Northumbria University. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

A Rugby Life member of The Rugby Club, Owen pursued an outstanding Rugby career, representing the Wallabies and the ACT Brumbies with distinction for over a decade. He was a foundation member and a key performer for the ACT Brumbies from their inception in 1996, playing in 93 Super Rugby matches and captaining them to their 2004 triumph. He made his international debut against Wales in 1996 and went on to win 56 caps. He was an integral part of the Wallabies’ success over the following decade and was named in the Wallaby team of the first professional decade in 2005 and was Australia’s player of the year in 2001.

The undoubted highlight of Owen’s career came in 1999 when he scored an injury time try as Australia won The Rugby World Cup. In 2008 Owen retired from professional sport and returned to the ACT Brumbies where he spent three years coaching professionally in Canberra with the Brumbies and as a consultant to the Samoan Rugby Union.
Owen then ventured into the world of “not for profit” and for four years was the CEO of Snowy Hydro Southcare, the rescue helicopter service for the ACT and Southern NSW.

Owen is currently the CEO of The Kids’ Cancer Project which, after the Commonwealth and NSW Governments, is the largest not for profit investor involved in childhood cancer research in Australia. The organisation which Owen leads is a national leader in childhood cancer research which funds the most promising research projects being undertaken across Australia.

Owen returns to the Rugby coaching ranks when he takes the helm as Randwick’s 1st grade coach in 2018.

The Board believes that the unique experience and skill set possessed by Owen will be of immeasurable benefit to The Rugby Club Foundation as it pursues its strategic vision of “Sharing the Spirit of the Game”.