He initially partnered Jason Little, with whom he wrote a book, Perfect Union and later in his career, Daniel Herbert. Horan and Little met when they were 13 years old, rooming together for a rugby league representative team.[citation needed]
Horan played a role in Australia winning the 1999 Rugby World Cup. He was voted player of the tournament (winning himself a year's worth of Guinness for scoring the fastest try).[1]
His debut came in 1989 against New Zealand, where he impressed his opposite number, Joe Stanley. In his next Test, he and Little marked the experienced French pair of Franck Mesnel and Philippe Sella, and Horan scored his first two Test tries.
After winning the World Cup in 1991, in which he scored four tries and a successful Bledisloe Cup in 1992, the Wallabies endured a mixed 1993. 1994 saw Horan's career nearly end with a horrific knee injury in the Super 10 final and he would spend over a year in rehabilitation before making the squad to the 1995 World Cup defence in South Africa.
In 1996, he captained the national side for the first and only time and he also played at flyhalf. He missed the 61–22 loss to South Africa but returned for a 15-all draw with England, helping Ben Tune and George Gregan score a try apiece.[citation needed]
He peaked again for the 1999 Rugby World Cup against South Africa in the semi-final. He played against South Africa in a 27-21 extra-time win. This was followed by the second Wallaby World Cup win of his career.
2000 was to be his final Test year and was affected by injuries. He signed for English club Saracens.
Retirement
Horan began a career as a newspaper columnist and broadcaster. Horan headed the Sports and Entertainment business in Private and Premium Banking for Westpac Banking Corporation until 2018 when he joined London based investment specialist River and Mercantile as Managing Director of its Australia and New Zealand operation.[2] He is an ambassador for Spinal Injuries Australia, speaking to school children regarding prevention of spinal injuries. Horan is an ambassador for the Modified Rugby Program (MRP) that provides modified games of rugby for boys and girls with learning and perceptual difficulties. He is also ambassador for Aunties and Uncles - a non-profit organisation offering friendship, role-modelling and support for children in single parent or parentless families. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2006, and in the 2009 Australia Day Honours he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), "for service to Rugby Union football, particularly as an international representative player, and to the community through promoting awareness of spinal injury prevention and support for youth mentoring organisations."[3][4][5]
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