Dallas O'Neill
| Full name | Dallas John O'Neill | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 9 March 1943 Mackay, Queensland, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 28 March 2026 (aged 83) Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Front row, second row | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Dallas John O'Neill (9 March 1943 – 28 March 2026) was an Australian rugby union international who represented Australia in two Test matches. He also played rugby league for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Biography
[edit]O'Neill, born and raised in Mackay, Queensland, was educated at St Joseph's College, Nudgee as a boarder. He made his first Queensland representative appearance at the age of 19, only weeks after he had debuted in first-grade for Brothers.[1]
A number eight, O'Neill had early international experience as a Wallabies reserve on the 1962 tour of New Zealand, playing five uncapped matches. He was set to receive his first cap on the following year's tour of South Africa, but had to withdraw from the 1st Test team with a groin injury, which sidelined him for the remainder of the series.[2] On his return to New Zealand for the 1964 tour, O'Neill made his Test debut at Carisbrook and gained a second cap at Lancaster Park.[3]
He was signed by rugby league club South Sydney in 1967, along with Wallabies teammate Bob Honan. His code switch was not as successful as Honan's, due to limited opportunities in first-grade. He was hampered by a cruciate ligament injury in his first few seasons and spent much of his time in the reserve grade.[4]
O'Neill died in Byron Bay on 28 March 2026, at the age of 83.[5][6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "GPS First XV rugby: Nudgee's best - past and present". The Courier Mail. 6 August 2021.
- ↑ "O'Neill Out of Wallabies". The Canberra Times. 12 July 1963. p. 40 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Dallas John O'Neill". classicwallabies.com.au.
- ↑ "Other O'Neill to fore". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 May 1971.
- ↑ "Vale Dallas O'Neill: Wallaby, Queensland Captain at 21 and Brothers Legend". Queensland Reds. Queensland Rugby Union. 29 March 2026. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
- ↑ "Vale Dallas O'Neill". South Sydney Rabbitohs. 1 April 2026. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
External links
[edit]- Dallas O'Neill at ESPNscrum (archived)
- 1943 births
- 2026 deaths
- Australian rugby union players
- Australia international rugby union players
- Australian rugby league players
- Rugby league second-rows
- South Sydney Rabbitohs players
- Rugby league players from Mackay, Queensland
- Rugby union players from Queensland
- Rugby union number eights
- People educated at St Joseph's College, Nudgee
- Brothers Old Boys players
- Queensland rugby union team players
- Footballers who switched code
- 20th-century Australian sportsmen