4 days ago
Jock Campbell pens own Farr-Jones fairytale with Reds Lions captaincy
Queensland rugby's answer to the Nick Farr-Jones fairytale will be writ large on the international stage when Jock Campbell leads the Reds into battle against the British and Irish Lions.
Farr-Jones, the Wallabies captain from 1988 to 1992, has been the inspirational poster boy for every man, woman and child to miss out on selection for their dream team ever since he missed out on Newington's First XV in 1979.
His timeless tale of perserverence to lead Australia to 1991 World Cup glory has become the stuff of legend, echoing through the years to Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
When Reds custodian Campbell leads his team out the tunnel he will become the state's 130th rugby union captain, 12 years after watching the 2013 Lions series from the stands as fullback of The Southport School's Second XV.
Like Farr-Jones, the unheralded Campbell never started a match for the school's flagship team before blossoming into the school's 20th Wallaby.
First XV coach Mike Wallace said he was immensely proud of the late bloomer's rise to captain his state against the Lions.
'It's fantastic. It's a testament to the type of person he is and that people have recognised his qualities as a human as much as his qualities as a footballer,' Wallace said.
'Jock is a really good example of persistence, hard work and effort paying off in the end.'
Those traits were apparent in The Southport School's boarding house as early as age 13 but were drawn into sharp focus as Campbell battled injury in his senior year.
A back injury sustained while pace bowling in TSS' First XI cricket campaign was exacerbated during the First IV tennis season, robbing Campbell of precious opportunities to train in the lead-up to the First XV season.
'He was a very good touch footballer and an all-round great sportsman; rugby, cricket, tennis,' Wallace said.
'Jock had a stress fracture in his back from the First XI and only got through the first few rounds (of tennis) before his back gave up on him.
'I think he maybe even had ankle injuries as well, so there were multiple things going on in that final year of school (that conspired against his selection).'
Campbell's toughness saw him fight through his injury pain to start every match of the Second XV season instead.
What Wallace never doubted was the fullback's toughness.
'He was a classic country kid who was and remains a bloody good human,' he said.
'He had fantastic talent across multiple sports. He ended up a school prefect, was well-respected, a really good academic. He was highly regarded, was good to his mates. He could do anything.'
Campbell's touch football background translated into a keen awareness of the space around him as a schoolboy but his slight build and lack of a long kicking game limited him to the occasional First XV appearance off the bench.
It was on the rugby sevens field for University of Queensland after graduation that Campbell's success story began brewing.
UQ assistant coach Andrew Brown, a former Aussie Sevens representative, had been impressed by the quicksilver Gold Coast product during the club's summer sevens circuit and flagged Campbell as a potential Premier Grader to coach Mick Heenan.
After two seasons in the club's under-20s Heenan gave Campbell his shot on the wing, learning the ropes from future Wallaby fullback Tom Banks in 2016.
Banks' departure to the Brumbies the following season was the chance Campbell had been waiting for.
Campbell filled the vacant No.15 jersey and helped lead UQ to the 2017 Hospital Cup.
He was drafted into Brad Thorn's Queensland Country team, wining the National Rugby Championship that same season and setting in motion his pathway to the Reds.
Heenan said Campbell's story was the ultimate endorsement of Queensland's pathways.
'He was definitely unheralded,' Heenan said. 'He never had any rep selections, he didn't come to UQ on the back of any rep career. He certainly wasn't in first grade straight out of colts.
'What he is, is encouragement for players who don't make the academy as a 16- or 17-year-old. He was never in that pathway. He's just a guy who loved his footy, loved playing with his mates and every level he got to, he excelled at.
'I'd love to see him get another opportunity at Wallaby level because I think he'd thrive in that environment as well.'
The appointment of Reds coach Les Kiss to succeed Joe Schmidt at the Wallabies will give Campbell a chance to feature during the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
A one-year contract extension announced this week will keep Campbell in Red for Kiss' takeover, with six months to negotiate whether Campbell's versatility could be an asset to the 2027 Wallabies squad.
'Having experience around our program is so important. Jock's communication on the field is valuable for other players apart from the strong skills to his own game,' Kiss said this week.
'When I first arrived at the Reds, Jock was one of the senior players who helped me a lot around the coaching.
'To have a smart footballer capable of playing fullback, wing or a role at flyhalf during a game is the sort of flexibility all squads need.'
