Paul McLean (rugby union)

Last updated

Paul McLean
Birth namePaul Edward McLean
Date of birth (1953-10-12) 12 October 1953 (age 70)
Place of birth Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
School Nudgee College
St Edmund's College
Notable relative(s) Doug Sr. (grandfather)
Bill, Jack, Doug Jr. (uncles)
Jeff (brother), Peter (cousin)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half, Fullback, Centre
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1972–1982 Brothers Old Boys ()
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1973–1982 Queensland 100 (1000)
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1974–1982 Australia 31 (263)

Paul Edward McLean, MBE (born 12 October 1953) is an Australian former rugby union player. He played rugby for Queensland and Australia in the 1970s and 1980s, He is a former president of the Queensland Rugby Union, Australian Rugby Union, and an inductee into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame. [1] From 2009 to 2015 he was chief executive officer for Savills (Australia & New Zealand), overseeing the Australasian operations of the multinational real estate services provider.

Contents

Family and early life

Paul McLean born in Ipswich, Queensland to Bob and Irene McLean. He attended St Edmund's College in Ipswich and Nudgee College in Brisbane. [2] McLean played for the Ipswich Rangers, [3] before joining Brothers in Brisbane, which was his local rugby club for the rest of his playing career.

Seven members of the McLean family have represented Australia in rugby union or rugby league. [1] [2] His grandfather Doug McLean Sr. and uncle Doug McLean Jr. were dual code internationals who played for the Wallabies and Kangaroos. His uncle Bill captained the Wallabies in the wake of World War II and his uncle Jack toured with the Wallabies in 1946. His brother Jeff and cousin Peter also played for the Wallabies. [4]

Rugby career

McLean made his debut for the Queensland rugby team in 1973, and quickly progressed to make his Wallaby debut the following year against the All Blacks. He made 31 career test appearances between 1974 and 1982. [2]

He was a world-class goal kicker and at his prime there was no better tactical kicker in the game. He was also a gifted runner and passer when he took those options although later in his career critics were regularly calling for Mark Ella's more obvious running game to be brought into the Wallaby side. McLean played mostly at fly-half for the Wallabies but on some occasions was shifted to fullback or centre to make way for fly-half rivals Tony Melrose, Ken Wright and Mark Ella. [2]

McLean captained Australia on one occasion, leading the team to a 22–9 win against Fiji in Suva in 1980. [5] In his 1982 farewell season, McLean reached 1,000 points for Queensland in his 100th and final game. He also scored 21 points against Scotland in his final Test match, which was the Australian individual record at that time. [1] [2]

Brisbane newspaper journalist Hugh Lunn recorded the following on McLean's career in The Australian:

"Paul McLean played 31 Test matches for Australia and 100 for Queensland; he won the rugby premiership for his school (St Joseph's, Nudgee) with a 55m penalty kick; Brothers club lost only one of the eight grand finals in which he played; he scored exactly 1000 points for Queensland in his 100th match in the last match of Queensland Rugby's Centenary year; he kicked 14 consecutive goals against Wales on their Australian tour; he holds the individual Australian point-scoring record for a Test match of 21 points and he is the greatest point scorer in the history of Australian Rugby Union." [6]

On the day of McLean's final game for Queensland, the main grandstand at Ballymore was named the McLean Stand in honour of the contributions from the McLean family to Queensland rugby and Australian rugby. [4]

Post-rugby

After retiring from playing rugby, McLean took up a position as sales manager in the Brisbane office of Ansett in 1982 was promoted to state manager within a year. He later moved into commercial real estate with FPD Savills [4] as Director of Agency & Commercial Leasing.

For six years from late 1999 to 2005, McLean was president of the Queensland Rugby Union. From 2005 to 2009 he was president of the Australian Rugby Union, later renamed Rugby Australia. [1] McLean was inducted into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame in 2011. [1] [5] He became chairman of Rugby Australia as an interim appointment to replace Cameron Clyne in February 2020 ahead of an annual general meeting the following month, [7] and was replaced in May 2020 by Hamish McLennan. [8]

He is also a Director of Youngcare, a charitable organisation that works to create choice in care and housing options for young Australians with high care needs. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia national rugby union team</span> Australia national rugby union team

The Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the touring British Isles team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby Australia</span> Governing body for rugby union in Australia

Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It is a member of World Rugby. Rugby Australia has eight member unions, representing each state and the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory. It also manages national representative rugby union teams, including the Wallabies and the Wallaroos.

John Anthony Eales is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby. In 1999, he became one of the first players to win multiple Rugby World Cups.

Michael Patrick Thomas Lynagh, is an Australian former rugby union player who played mainly as a fly-half. Lynagh represented Australia from 1984 to 1995, playing at both inside centre and fly half. Lynagh was capped 72 times for Australia, and was captain from 1993 to 1995. He was the world points scoring record holder when he retired, with 911 points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballymore Stadium</span> Multifunctional Australian stadium in Brisbane

Ballymore is a rugby union stadium situated in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It is the headquarters of Queensland Rugby Union and was the home ground of the Brisbane City team in the National Rugby Championship, until the league's disbandment in 2019. It is also used as a training facility for the Queensland Reds and Australian Wallabies rugby teams.

Mark Gordon Ella, AM is an indigenous Australian former rugby union footballer. Ella played at flyhalf/five-eighth and was capped by the Wallabies 25 times, captaining Australia on 10 occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berrick Barnes</span> Australia international rugby union & league footballer

Berrick Steven Barnes is a former Australian professional rugby union footballer. His usual position is fly-half or inside centre. He is previously played with Japanese Top League clubs Panasonic Wild Knights and the Ricoh Black Rams, as well as in the Super Rugby competition with the NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds. He also played for the Wallabies in international matches.

Sean Hardman is a former Australian rugby union player who played as a hooker for the Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby competition. He also represented Australia internationally, where he made his debut against France in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brothers Old Boys</span> Rugby team

Brothers Rugby Club is an Australian rugby union club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The name alludes to its beginnings as a rugby club founded by alumni of schools established by the Congregation of Christian Brothers.

Douglas James McLean Sr. was a pioneer Australian representative rugby union and rugby league footballer, a dual-code international. He also represented Queensland in rugby league.

The McLean family were an Australian rugby clan who between them played 77 Tests for the Australian national rugby union team and a number of Tests for the Australian national rugby league team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill McLean</span> Rugby player

William Malcolm McLean was an Australian soldier and a state and national representative rugby union player who captained the Wallabies in five Test matches immediately after World War II.

Andrew Gerard Slack is an Australian former state and national representative rugby union player who captained the Wallabies in 19 Test matches in between 1984 and 1987. His 133 appearances for Queensland between 1975 and 1987 stood as the state record until bettered by Mark Connors in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Lawton Snr</span> Rugby player

Tom Lawton Snr was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative five-eighth who made 44 appearances for the Wallabies, played in 14 Test matches and captained the national side on ten occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Shaw (rugby union)</span> Rugby player

Anthony Alexander Shaw is an Australian former rugby union player. A Queensland state and national representative flanker, Shaw captained the national side consistently from 1978 to 1982.

Dr. John Clement "Clem" Windsor was a rugby union player who represented Australia and a surgeon.

Geoffrey Arnold Shaw is an Australian former national representative rugby union player who played for and captained the Wallabies. He made state representative appearances for both New South Wales and Queensland over an eleven-year period from 1969.

Richard James Pickett Marks, is an Australian former rugby union footballer and noted administrator. He played 17 Tests for Australia between 1962 and 1967, and was a captain of Queensland, for whom he played from 1962 to 1972. He served as national coaching director from 1974 to 1995, and was a leading figure in lifting the standard of Australian rugby. He also served on the Board of Queensland Rugby and was an inaugural member of rugby's International Technical Committee and drafter of the Game’s Charter. He received the Joe French Award for his contributions to Australian rugby in 2014, and remains active in debates on governance of Australian rugby. In 2020, he was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. He is the grandfather of Queensland Reds player Curtis Browning.

Izack Rodda is an Australian professional rugby union player. He currently plays for the Western Force in Super Rugby. Rodda previously played for the Queensland Reds and French Top 14 team Lyon OU. He is capped for the Australian national team and played at the Rugby World Cup in 2019. His regular position is lock.

Jeffrey James McLean was an Australian rugby union international.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Queensland's Paul McLean inducted into Wallaby Hall of Fame". 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Meares, Peter (2002). Legends of Australian Sport: The Inside Story. University of Queensland Press. p. 164. ISBN   9780702234101 . Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  3. "Rugby a Relative Thing; McLean Family Has Links to Top". The Queensland Times. Ipswich, Australia. 24 July 2009. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Meares (2002), pp. 166–167.
  5. 1 2 Harris, Bret (25 August 2011). "Paul McLean latest inductee into Hall of Fame". The Australian. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  6. Swannell, Cate (27 August 2008). "Oh to be a Queenslander!". goldcoast.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  7. "Cameron Clyne replaced by Paul McLean as Rugby Australia chairman in advance of next month's AGM". Australia: ABC News. 24 February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020.
  8. "Rugby Australia appoints Hamish McLennan as new chairman". The Guardian. London. 15 May 2020. Archived from the original on 15 May 2020.
  9. "The Board". Youngcare. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.

Bibliography

Preceded by Australian national rugby union captain
1980
Succeeded by