Wallabies flanker Fraser McReight has won the 2026 John Eales Medal, Australian rugby’s highest individual honour, after a standout year in the gold jersey.
McReight received the award at the Rugby Australia Awards in Sydney on Thursday night, Rugby Australia reported, and became the first Queensland Reds player to win the medal since Chris Latham in 2006.
The medal is decided by votes from Wallabies players after every Test, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Joining the great back-rowers
McReight follows a long line of back-rowers to win the award, including four-time winner Michael Hooper and two-time winners David Pocock, George Smith and Rob Valetini.
Rugby Australia reported that McReight made 17 turnovers (per Opta) and nearly 180 tackles in the 12-month voting period, and scored six Test tries. He was also named Defender of the Year for his effort against France in Brisbane.
Read more: Kurtley Beale Recalled to Wallabies Squad for Spring Tour
What McReight said
“I think it means I have created my own legacy,” McReight said, as quoted by Rugby Australia.
“Those players that have come before me are fantastic players and we’re all so different. I think now people can fully appreciate that they’re unbelievable players and I was lucky enough to play with Hoops and idolise a lot of them.”
“I think for me now to carve my own path and knowing that I’ve got the World Cup next year and other things that I’m really targeting is really special to me.”
Other award winners
Brumbies inside centre Faitala Moleka, 21, was named Wallaroos Player of the Year, while Reds team-mates Jock Campbell (Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year) and Treyvon Pritchard (Men’s Rookie of the Year) also won major awards.
Henry Hutchison and Isabella Nasser won the Shawn Mackay Awards as the men’s and women’s sevens players of the year, Siokapesi Palu Sekona was named Super Rugby Women’s Player of the Year and Nic Berry was Referee of the Year, the Herald reported.
Read more: Super Rugby 2027 Squads: O’Connor to Force, Ikitau Back at Brumbies
McReight and the Wallabies head to Europe for the Spring Tour, with the Rugby World Cup to be played in Australia in 2027.
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