With a solid chunk of our sporting attention diverted towards our athletes’ exploits in Paris over these few weeks, we’re taking the opportunity to celebrate the rugby league players who appeared on the big stage (and one who didn’t but should have).
Australia rugby union team (1908)
Australia took out the rugby union gold medal at the 1908 London Games, defeating Great Britain 32-3 in the final with a team featuring eight players who went on to have a massive impact on rugby league’s formative years.
The Wallabies were in the middle of a lengthy tour of the British Isles, where Charlie ‘Boxer’ Russell scored a record 24 tries.
He was part of the second wave of defections from the amateur ranks upon the Wallabies’ return that was so vital to rugby league’s early success.
The goalkicking fullback led Newtown to its maiden premiership in 1910 and toured Britain again with the 1911-12 ‘Australasian’ Kangaroos.
A hulking second-row forward in four rugby union Tests and part of the gold medal-winning side in London, Paddy McCue was a central figure in the mass Wallaby exodus of 1909, negotiating with teammates to participate in three promotional matches against the Kangaroos that year.
McCue joined Russell in Newtown’s title-winning side of 1910 and was vice-captain of the 1911-12 Kangaroo Tour to Britain, playing 84 games for the Bluebags and representing Australia in four rugby league Tests.
Bob Craig won a gold medal with Australia’s 1908 rugby team, but could easily have represented his country in several other sports.
The amazingly versatile Balmain product won eight consecutive NSW swimming championships from 1899-1906, was part of four Sydney premiership-winning water polo teams and featured in Balmain’s soccer premiership success of 1905.
Turning his hand to rugby union, Craig swiftly attained Wallaby status before defecting to league in 1909. He played seven Tests for Australia and won four premierships with the dominant Balmain club as one of the finest forwards of the code’s pioneering era.
Glebe rugby union star Chris McKivat captained the Wallabies to their 32-3 thrashing of Great Britain at Cornwall in 1908, which secured Olympic gold for Australia.
Such was his influence, McKivat’s decision to switch to rugby league upon the team’s return was seen as a major catalyst for the mass departure to the fledgling code.
The Glebe halfback stands as one of the most revered figures and brilliant players of Australian rugby league’s early years, captaining the 1911-12 Kangaroos to a historic series victory over England.
McKivat later coached North Sydney to their only premierships in 1921-22, and was named among Australia’s 100 Greatest Players in 2008.
The other members of Australia’s Olympic rugby triumph who switched to league were Souths five-eighth Arthur McCabe and Balmain forward Charles McMurtrie, who both represented NSW, and dual internationals Jack Hickey, a centre with Glebe, and Jack Barnett, a Newtown stalwart.
Wally McArthur (1952)
This entry on the list is reserve for a rugby league pioneer who did not make to the games, but arguably would have if not for racial injustice.
Indigenous winger McArthur, born in Northern Territory, began playing rugby league in South Australia and Western Australia before venturing to England and racking up 165 appearances for Rochdale, Blackpool Borough, Salford and Workington.
McArthur was also an outstanding junior athlete, winning the South Australian Under-19s 100 and 220 yards championships, and went on to win the national Under-19s title in the 100 yards.
It has been proposed by prominent historians that he was left out of Australia’s track-and-field team for Helsinki in 1952 due to his Aboriginal heritage, although this has been a source of conjecture.
McArthur became a professional sprinter in 1953 and won his first 10 races – including a victory over Australian champion Frank Banner – but quit to pursue his rugby league dream.
Dick Thornett (1960)
Outstanding Parramatta forward Thornett is part of an elite group to have represented Australia in three sports.
He played 11 union and 14 league Tests for his country, but prior to his stellar career in the oval-ball codes, Thornett was part of the Australian water polo team that went to Rome in 1960, where Australia was eliminated in the group stage as Italy surged to the gold.
A product of the Bronte club, Thornett was described as an uncompromising attacker with ‘a shot so powerful it made most goalkeepers shudder’.
The Eels stalwart was a 1963-64 Kangaroo tourist along with younger brother and club-mate, Ken, and was named in the NSW Police Team of the Century in 2008.
Jeff Fenech (1984)
One of the greatest-ever boxers to come from Down Under, Fenech was Australia’s boxing team captain at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Fenech was eliminated in a controversial flyweight quarter-final bout against Yugoslavian Redžep Redžepovski, who won in a recount after Fenech had initially been given the decision.
He turned professional and won world titles in three weight divisions before announcing his retirement.
A capable junior rugby league player, Fenech maintained close friendships with the likes of Mario Fenech (no relation) and Ben Elias, and signed on with Parramatta.
A feisty hooker, the ‘Marrickville Mauler’ made two reserve-grade appearances for the Eels before returning to the ring.
Darren Clark (1984, 1988)
Clark was one of the world’s best 400-metre sprinters during the 1980s, finishing fourth in the event at both the 1984 Los Angeles and 1988 Seoul Olympics.
He was also part of Australia’s 4 x 400m relay team at both Games, which finished fourth and sixth respectively.
After winning 400m gold at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games, Clark switched to rugby league with Balmain in 1991.
The Tigers unveiled their speedster at the pre-season Sevens, but like other professional sprinters before and since, Clark struggled to adjust to top-level rugby league and failed to break out of reserve grade.
Clark returned to athletics and was selected in Australia’s Barcelona 1992 team but an Achilles injury forced his withdrawal.
His time of 44.38 seconds in Seoul remains the Oceania record for the 400m.
Australia Women’s Rugby Sevens (2016, 2020)
The Australian team that claimed a historic gold in the inaugural women’s rugby sevens tournament in Rio featured three future NRLW players.
Arguably the two highest-profile members of the team, Charlotte Caslick and Ellia Green, had brief stints with Sydney Roosters and the Warriors, respectively, during the 2020 NRLW campaign.
Caslick went on to represent again in Tokyo, with Australia losing in the quarters, and was the captain of the team that this week was upset by Canada in the semis and USA in the bronze medal match in Paris.
Meanwhile, 2016 and 2020 representative Emma Tonegato has become one of women’s rugby league’s genuine superstars since switching codes in 2021.
The brilliant fullback spent two seasons with St George Illawarra and is in her second campaign with Cronulla.
Tonegato has represented NSW in six Origins and Australia in six Tests, scoring a try off the bench in the 2022 World Cup final.
Evania Pelite also won a gold medal in Rio, played alongside Green for the Warriors in the 2020 NRLW and backed up for the Australian women’s rugby sevens team in Tokyo before joining the NRLW ranks permanently in 2021.
The centre/fullback has played 23 games for Gold Coast Titans – including the 2023 grand final loss to Newcastle – as well as scoring seven tries in four games as a winger in Australia’s 2022 World Cup success and turning out in six Origins for Queensland.
New Zealand Women’s Rugby Sevens (2016, 2020, 2024)
The younger sister of Sonny Bill Williams, Niall Williams-Guthrie has carved out her own impressive legacy as a rugby sevens great – including a sliver medal for New Zealand at the 2016 games and gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The hard-hitting centre switched to rugby league in 2023 and played all 11 games, including the NRLW grand final, for Gold Coast and has backed up for the Titans again this year.
She also played a Test for Samoa in a win over Fiji last October.
Tyla Nathan-Wong has been in the New Zealand women’s sevens team for well over a decade, winning silver in Rio and back-to-back gold medals in Tokyo and Paris.
The playmaker also tried her hand at rugby league in 2023 – with outstanding results, playing every game for St George Illawarra and playing three Tests for the Kiwi Ferns, including their memorable win over the Jillaroos in Townsville.
Sonny Bill Williams (2016)
One of modern rugby league’s highest-profile players went to Rio in 2016 in an attempt to bring home the gold for New Zealand in the inaugural Rugby Sevens tournament.
Cross-code superstar SBW won NRL grand finals with the Bulldogs (2004) and Roosters (2013), while his 58 Test caps for the All Blacks include two World Cup triumphs, and he has a 9-1 record as a pro boxer.
New Zealand were second favourites in the Olympic Rugby Sevens competition but missed the medals, with a Fiji squad that overlooked Jarryd Hayne taking the gold.
Williams, who suffered an Achilles injury in a shock defeat to Japan in the tournament, returned to the NRL again in 2020 with the Roosters.
Lachie Miller (2020)
Speedster Miller featured in Australia’s Tokyo rugby sevens team, which reached the quarter-finals before running into eventual gold medallists Fiji.
Miller subsequently joined Cronulla, played seven NRL games for the club in 2022, then shifted to Newcastle and making his mark at fullback in 12 top-grade matches before falling out of favour. He linked with Leeds Rhinos this year.
Will Warbrick (2020)
Tall, athletic Rotorua product Warbrick came to the attention of Melbourne Storm after winning a silver medal with the New Zealand rugby sevens team in Tokyo.
Also a New Zealand AFL rep, Warbrick spent a year honing his rugby league skills in the Queensland Cup before enjoying a superb rookie year as a 25-year-old in 2022.
Warbrick has scored 25 tries in 42 games so far for the Storm.