William Alexander Campbell
| Full name | William Alexander Campbell |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 28 November 1961 |
| Place of birth | Brisbane, Queensland |
| Height | 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 118 kg (18 st 8 lb) |
| University | Oxford |
William Alexander Campbell (born 28 November 1961) played 26 test matches and vice-captained for 15 for the Australian Wallabies in the position of lock from 1984 til 1990. He played 58 matches and captained 26 times (21 wins and five losses) for the Queensland Reds. Peter Jenkins named Campbell as one of the top 100 Wallabies in his book of the same name. Campbell ended his rugby career at 29 to further his medical studies and focus on his growing family.
After touring the United Kingdom with Australian Universities in 1984, William Campbell made his debut upon his return for both the Queensland Reds and Australian Wallabies. Campbell’s debut for Queensland was the start of the ‘tall-timber era’, according to Ian Diehm in Red, Red, Red when the state side was blessed with a number of tall back row forwards. At 202 cm and weighing in at 118 kilograms, Campbell had a gift making him an impressive athlete. Following his impressive performances for Queensland, Campbell was selected to make his international debut against Fiji in Suva the same year as a member of the 1984 Grand Slam Wallaby touring side. The Wallabies won the match 16 to 3. Campbell did not join the Wallabies again until 1986 when he played against Italy in Ballymore. He then went on to play against France and Argentina for both Queensland and the Wallabies in the same season. The tour by Argentina was only the second visit to Australia by the Pumas since 1983 and once again the athletic and tall Campbell stamped his authority on the line-outs in all of these matches.
During the same year, coach Alan Jones took the Wallabies into the Bledisloe Cup series following his mantra "KISS" - Keep It Simple Stupid. The Wallabies won the first Test match 13 to 12, the All Blacks won the second Test Match 13 to 12, with the Wallabies coming out on top after the third Test match, winning 22 to 9. This marked the first time the Australian Wallabies won the Bledisloe Cup on Kiwi soil since 1949. The coach presented an inscribed photograph of Campbell, reaching for the ball in a line-out, thanking him for playing ‘such a big role in our Bledisloe Cup victory’.
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