David Campese


David Ian Campese, AM, also known as Campo, is a former Australian rugby union player, who was capped by the Wallabies 101 times, and played 85 Tests at wing and 16 at fullback.
He retired in 1996 and was awarded the Order of Australia in 2002 for his contribution to Australian rugby. Campese is now a media commentator, working in broadcasting and print media, and international guest speaker. He also works as an ambassador to businesses including Coca-Cola Amatil, DHL, Adidas, Ladbrokes, and Investec.

Career summary

Campese debuted for the Wallabies on the 1982 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand, during which he scored one try in each of his first two Tests. In 1983, he equalled the then Australian record for most tries in a Test, scoring four for Australia against the USA. He toured with the Eighth Wallabies for the 1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland that won rugby union's grand slam, the first Australian side to defeat all four home nations, England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, on a tour. He was a member of the Wallabies on the 1986 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand that beat the All Blacks 2–1, one of six international teams and second Australian team to win a test series in New Zealand. He participated in the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, during which he broke the then world record for most tries scored by an international rugby player in the semi-final against France. Campese was a member of the Wallabies that won the 1991 Rugby World Cup,during which he was the tournament's equal leading try-scorer with six, and acclaimed "Player of the Tournament".
Campese won his second Bledisloe Cup in 1992 when the Wallabies defeated the All Blacks 2–1. During the 1992 Australia rugby union tour of South Africa, he scored his 50th career Test try against South Africa in Cape Town. He won his third Bledisloe Cup in 1994, playing for an Australian team that defeated New Zealand in a one-off Test. On the 1996 Australia rugby union tour of Europe, Campese became the first Australian rugby union player, and second international player, to reach the milestone of playing 100 Tests. He retired from international rugby at the end of tour, having played 101 tests and scored a then world-record 64 test tries. This record has since been overtaken by Daisuke Ohata and Bryan Habana.
At state level, Campese represented both the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales. In 1983, he scored two tries, four conversions, and a penalty goal, in an Australian Capital Territory victory over Argentina. In 1991, he scored five tries for New South Wales in a 71–8 victory over Wales. At club level, Campese played for the Queanbeyan Whites from 1979 until 1986, and Randwick from 1987 to 1999. He won three consecutive grand finals with the Queanbeyan Whites from 1981 to 1983, and in the 1983 grand final he scored all of his team's points in a 29–12 victory, scoring four tries, two conversions and three penalty goals. He won eight grand finals with Randwick, including six consecutive victories from 1987 to 1992, as well as triumphs in 1994 and 1996.
Campese also played rugby union in Italy for nine years during which he won the Top12 on five occasions with two teams. He played for Petrarca Padova from 1984/85 until 1987/88 and won the Italian Championship in his first three years with the club. In 1988, Campese transferred to Amatori where he won the Italian championship for the 1990/91 and 1992/93 seasons. He was awarded Player of the Year for his 1991/2 season.
Campese was also a renowned rugby sevens player. He made 12 appearances at the Hong Kong Sevens,
during which he played in three victorious Australian campaigns, and was awarded the Leslie Williams Award for Player of the Tournament in 1988. In 1987, Campese won the New South Wales Sevens tournament, held at Concord Oval, playing for an Australian side that defeated New Zealand 22–12 in the final. In 1990, he participated in the 100th Melrose Sevens tournament playing for the victorious Randwick rugby club, during which he scored 44 of Randwick's 92 points. He participated in the inaugural Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in 1993, held at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Scotland, in which his Australian team lost to England 17–21 in the final. In 1998, he captained Australia to its first rugby sevens tournament victory in ten years at the Paris Sevens. He captained the Australian rugby sevens team at the 1998 Commonwealth Games to a bronze medal. In 2015, the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union announced Campese as one of seven members of 'The Hong Kong Magnificent Sevens', the HKRFU's commemorative campaign to recognise the seven most formative players to have played in the past 40 Years of Sevens in Hong Kong.
He is famous for his "goose-step" — a hitch-kick motion which left opponents stumbling to try to tackle him.

Early life and rugby career

David Campese was born to an Italian Father Gianantonio and an Irish Mother Joan Campese on 21 October 1962 in Queanbeyan, New South Wales. He had two sisters, Lisa and Corrina and one brother, Mario. In 1966 his family moved to Montecchio Precalcino for eighteen months before moving back to Australia and resettling in Queanbeyan.
Campese attended his local public school and Queanbeyan High School. He played rugby league for the Queanbeyan Blues from the age of eight to sixteen. At 16 he gave up all forms of rugby to play golf, winning the ACT-Monaro Schoolboys golf title in 1978.
Campese played his first game of rugby union for the Queanbeyan Whites in 1979 in fourth grade. The following year he was promoted to first grade. In 1981 he was promoted to the Australian under-21 squad and toured New Zealand. Shortly after, prior to the 1981–82 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, he was selected in a 'trial match' but did not achieve national selection.

International Test career

1982

Bledisloe Cup Test series

On the night of Australia's second Test against Scotland in 1982, ten Australian rugby players announced that for personal and business reasons they would not be available for the 1982 Australian tour to New Zealand, including the Wallabies' premier winger Brendan Moon. Following this announcement, Campese was selected for the tour.
Campese debuted for the Wallabies in a match against Manawatu in Palmerston North, in which he scored a solo try and kicked three goals from five attempts in a 26–10 victory. He played in the following game against Hawke's Bay at Napier and, two matches later, was chosen for his first Test.
  • Australia 18 – New Zealand 33
Campese played a central part in one of the biggest talking points of the third and final Test.
The Wallabies set a scoring record for an Australian rugby union tour of New Zealand by scoring 316 points in 14 matches, including 47 tries. This surpassed the achievement of the 1972 Australian team, which scored 229 in 13 matches.
This included a try and three successful goals kicked from five attempts in his debut match against Manawatu, two tries and a conversion in the Wallabies' 11th tour game against Bay of Plenty, and 13 points against North Auckland at Whangārei in the Wallabies' final game prior to the third Test of the series, in which Campese scored two tries, a penalty and a conversion, before being named 'man of the match'. He was also deprived of a try in the Wallabies' 12th match on tour against Counties when Counties player Alan Dawson, shoved Campese in the back and away from the ball before he could touch it down.

1983

Campese played seven Tests for Australia in 1983, including four Tests played in Australia, one against the, two against Argentina, and a single Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand, before embarking on the 1983 Australia rugby union tour of Italy and France.
  • Australia 49 – United States 3
Campese scored four tries in Australia's victory over the United States, equalling former Australian backrower Greg Cornelsen's record for the most tries in a Test match for an Australian, which he set in the third Test against the All Blacks in 1978.

Australia vs Argentina

Campese played three matches against Argentina, including two Test matches. On 20 July 1983 Campese played at fullback for the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union, scoring two tries, four conversions, and a penalty goal, in a 35–9 victory over the touring Argentinian side. The match was Argentina's second match on tour and the only loss they suffered in a provincial game on tour.

Bledisloe Cup Test (Sydney)

Campese played in the Wallabies' sole Bledisloe Cup Test of 1983 against the All Blacks, which was lost 18–8. Campese continued to substitute at full-back for the injured Roger Gould. Again, Australian coach Bob Dwyer recommended Randwick player Glen Ella for the full-back position in Gould's absence, but was overruled by his co-selectors.

Tour to Italy and France

  • Australia 29 – Italy 7
Incumbent Australian fullback Roger Gould aggravated a thigh injury prior to the Test against Italy. However, Campese was selected on the wing, and Randwick fullback Glen Ella was selected in his second Test for Australia at fullback. Campese was assigned the goal-kicking duties against Italy.
  • Australia 15 – France 15
Roger Gould returned to the Australian team for the Test against France. However, due to an injury Gould sustained, Campese continued to perform the goal-kicking responsibilities for the Wallabies, following his goal-kicking performance against Italy.
  • Australia 6 – France 15
Campese returned to the Australian team in the goal-kicker role, while playing winger, for its second Test against France at Parc des Princes, which they lost 6–15.

1984

  • Australia 16 – Fiji 3
Australia played a Test against Fiji in Suva on 9 June 1984, in which Campese scored one try.

Bledisloe Cup Test series

  • 1st Test: Australia 16 – New Zealand 9
Campese was selected, along with Mark Ella, to share the goal-kicking responsibility for the first Test against New Zealand.
  • 2nd Test: Australia 15 – New Zealand 19
Campese was assigned goal-kicking duties in this Test, and kicked a penalty to bring the score to 15-all with eight minutes left in the Test. The All Blacks scored a try in the final stages of the match to win 19–15.