George Musarurwa Gregan AM (born 19 April 1973) is a former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who played as scrum-half. Born in

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

, Gregan represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

at an international level, and is Australia's second most capped player. He played Super 12 (now

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

) for the

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...

from the inception of that competition in 1996 through 2007, helping to lead them to overall victories in 2001 and 2004. He is a foundation Brumbies player and one of the few players whose career spans both the amateur and professional eras. His appearances as Australian captain include a Bledisloe Cup win in 2002 and an extra-time loss to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

final. As a member of the Wallabies team, Gregan has attained the zenith of the rugby world, winning the Rugby World Cup in 1999. Gregan and his longtime Wallabies teammate,

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

Stephen Larkham Stephen Larkham (born 29 May 1974) is a retired Australians, Australian rugby union professional player, currently in the role of head coach for Brumbies. He spent his career with the Brumbies (rugby), Brumbies in Super Rugby, for whom he playe ...

, also hold the all-time record for Test appearances by a halfback partnership with 79.

Early and personal life

Gregan was born in

to an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

father and a

Zimbabwean Demographic features of the population of Zimbabwe include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Population The population of Zimbabwe ...

mother, coincidentally in the same hospital where

Corné Krige Cornelius Petrus Johannes "Corné" Krige (born 21 March 1975) is a retired South African rugby union player. He played flanker for Western Province in the Currie Cup, the Stormers in Super Rugby and captained the South African national side, t ...

, who would grow up to be the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

captain during Gregan's Wallabies captaincy, would be born two years later. His family moved to Australia when he was two years old, and he grew up in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

where he was educated at St Edmund's College and graduated with a Bachelor of Education (Physical Education) from the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...

. Gregan and his wife Erica have three children, Max, Charlie and Jazz. Max was diagnosed with

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

in 2004; after spending time with Max in hospital and " xperiencingfirsthand the needs of many sick children and their parents" they set up the George Gregan Foundation in 2005. After building playgrounds in NSW, ACT and Qld hospitals and supporting the work of 18 neurology fellows, it is slated to close down in 2021.

Rugby career

Gregan represented Australia at under-19 and under-21 level.

1994 to 1999

Gregan made his first appearance for the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

in 1994 in a match against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in Brisbane, which the Wallabies won 23 to 20. He was subsequently capped in the victories over Italy again, and

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabit ...

. Later in 1994, Gregan made a famous try-saving tackle on

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

Jeff Wilson that directly led to Australia winning the

Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has varied, as has the n ...

that year and is much remembered as one of the greatest moments in the Wallabies-All Blacks rivalry. After two caps against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

the following season, Gregan had so far been on the winning side in all of his international games as Australia entered the 1995 World Cup in South Africa as defending champions. However, Australia made their exit at the quarter finals, losing 25 to 22 to

Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region * Newlands, Western Australia, a town in the Shire of Donnybrook–Balingup Ireland * Newlands Cross, Dublin, named after the former Newlands ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. The game went professional post-1995 World Cup, and one outcome of this was the formation of the

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

, of which Gregan became a foundation player for the

ACT Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the brumby, feral horses wh ...

franchise. That season Gregan appeared eight times for the Wallabies, including solid wins over both

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in Brisbane, scoring a try in the Canadian clash. Another outcome of professionalism was the formation of the

Tri Nations Series The Rugby Championship, formerly known as the Tri Nations Series (1996–2011), is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are traditionally the four highest ran ...

between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Gregan played in three of Australia's four fixtures at the first ever tournament, scoring a try in the 25 to 32 loss to the All Blacks in Brisbane. During the mid-1990s'

Super League war The Super League war was a commercial competition between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the Australian Super League to establish pre-eminence in professional rugby league competition in Australia and New Zealand in the mid-1990s. Sup ...

, Gregan was approached to be the starting halfback for the new Adelaide rugby league team for "seriously more money" than he would earn playing rugby union, but he opted to remain in the 15-man code. Gregan was elevated to the vice-captaincy of the Wallabies in 1997. In the

1997 Tri Nations Series The 1997 Tri Nations Series was the second Tri Nations Series, an international rugby union competition contested by the men's national teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It was played from 19 July to 23 August, with each team p ...

, Gregan scored a try in the opening game against the All Blacks, which was eventually lost 18 to 33, and the Wallabies won only one game, against South Africa, finishing at the bottom of the table. By the end of the year, Gregan was capped another four times. After winning in two matches against the Irish, and one against England in the winter of 1999 at home, the Wallabies ended up finishing in the middle of the table for the 1999 Tri Nations Series (with Gregan having played in every match), though they were still favourable entering the 1999 World Cup held in Wales. Australia finished at the top of Pool E, winning all their games, with Gregan playing in the matches against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and Ireland, though he was rested in the final pool game against the

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

. The Wallabies went on to defeat hosts Wales in the quarter finals at the new

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

with Gregan scoring a try, putting Joe Roff into space and then taking the scoring pass, and enter the final after defeating defending champions South Africa in the semi-finals. The Wallabies became two-time World Champions after defeating

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

35 to 12 in the final.

2001 to 2005

After the international retirement of

John Eales John Anthony Eales (born 27 June 1970) is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby. In 1999, he became one of the first players to win multiple Rugby World Cups. Early life E ...

in 2001, Gregan became the Wallabies captain. He was an obvious choice to fill the role, as it would be a natural progression from his position as vice-captain, as well as the fact that Gregan was a virtual automatic selection for the national team. Gregan played in all of Australia's 6 matches at the

. He landed an early drop goal in the 17 to 16 victory over

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in the pool stages. He also scored a try in the 33 to 16 win over

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the quarter-finals. Gregan led the Wallabies in defeating the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

in the semi-final. This contest led to a controversy for Gregan when he taunted his opponents after defeating them with the comment, "Four more years boys, four more years" i.e. New Zealand would have to wait another 4 years for an attempt at winning the World Cup. Australia lost to England in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. Following Australia's loss to the English in the World Cup, Gregan led the Wallabies on a massive winning campaign during the 2004 season. After defeating Scotland twice at home, the Wallabies faced the English in a World Cup replay in Brisbane, where they got their revenge, defeating England 51 to 15. Under Gregan, Australia lost just three matches in 2004, one against South Africa, one against New Zealand 16–7 in New Zealand and then against France in Paris. In July during the

2004 Tri Nations Series The 2004 Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, was the ninth in the series. The competition is organised by SANZAAR, SANZAR, a consortium of the three countri ...

, Gregan ran out at

Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco, Western Australia, Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood, ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

against South Africa for his 100th Wallaby test. In October 2004, Gregan announced that his four-year-old son had epilepsy and has launched an epilepsy awareness campaign in Australia with the slogan 'Get on the Team'. He also took up the role of patron of Brainwave Australia. Gregan missed a lot of the

2005 Super 12 season The 2005 Super 12 season was the tenth season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2005, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular seaso ...

after breaking his leg during a game against the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play t ...

in Canberra. Gregan returned for the match against Italy in Melbourne, which the Wallabies won 61 to 29. Though after a win over the French and one over the Springboks, the Wallabies fell to the bottom of the

2005 Tri Nations Series The 2005 Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, was the tenth in the series. The competition is organised by SANZAR, a consortium of the three countries' rugb ...

table, losing all of their games. With his start in the final match of the 2005 Tri Nations at

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

against the

, Gregan equalled England's

Jason Leonard Jason Leonard (born 14 August 1968) is an English former rugby union player. He won a then-record 114 caps for England men’s rugby team during a 14-year international career. A prop, Leonard played club rugby for Barking RFC, Saracens and H ...

as the most-

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

player for a national team in Test rugby, with 114 (Leonard also has five

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

caps). Appropriately, when Australia made their entrance for that match, Gregan went out on the field by himself before any of his teammates entered the pitch. On 5 November 2005, he earned his 115th

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

, surpassing Leonard, when he led out the Wallabies at

Stade Vélodrome The Stade Vélodrome (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Orange Vélodrome since June 2016, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, and has ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

against

. The Wallabies lost the match 16 to 26. The French loss was followed by a meeting with the English at Twickenham, where England's superior scrummaging saw them also win 26 to 16.

2006

In June 2006, the Wallabies, under new coach John Connolly, completed a solid win over England. Gregan came off the bench in the second half of the second Test in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

as he earned his 120th international cap - setting a new world record. After the matches against the English and Irish the Wallabies entered the

2006 Tri Nations Series The 2006 Tri Nations Series was the 10th Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. New Zealand won the competition with three rounds still to play after their vi ...

. Two weeks later the All Blacks came to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

for the

clash, in which Gregan equalled John Eales' record for most caps as captain of Australia, which is 55. In the subsequent match against South Africa in Sydney, Gregan passed Eales' record, becoming the most capped Australian captain of all time. The Wallabies managed to scrape home 20 to 18. For the 2006 European Tour, Gregan was rested and

Matt Giteau Matthew James Giteau (born 29 September 1982) is an Australian rugby union professional player who plays for the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR). Giteau plays as a Rugby union positions#Utility players, utility back. His usual posi ...

was given a chance at halfback.

2007

On 22 March 2007, the French Top 14 club

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

announced that it had signed Gregan to a contract for the 2007–08 season. He arrived in France after the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

, and was reportedly paid €400,000 for the season. Gregan played his last home game with the Brumbies on 28 April 2007; leading his team to a victory over the Canterbury Crusaders. Fittingly, this was also the last home game for his teammate

. The two were farewelled with the announcement that a stand at Canberra Stadium would be named after them. Gregan was again selected as part of the Wallabies squad for the 2007 home tests against Wales and Fiji and the Tri-Nations Series, although he was no longer the Captain of the team and was on the reserves bench behind

for the Tests against Wales. Gregan did regain his starting spot for the first Tri-Nations game against South Africa, showing his class and longevity. The Wallabies' co-Captains were

Phil Waugh Phillip Waugh (born 22 September 1979) is the chief executive of Rugby Australia and a former rugby union footballer who played 136 matches in Super Rugby for the NSW Waratahs, and in 79 Test matches for the Wallabies. His usual position was op ...

and

Stirling Mortlock Stirling Austin Mortlock (born 20 May 1977) is an Australian former professional rugby union player. He has scored more than 1,000 points in Super Rugby, and nearly 500 test points for the Wallabies. Mortlock is a former Wallaby, Melbourne Rebel ...

but Waugh was dropped to the bench during the Tri-Nations in place of Gregan's Brumbies teammate George Smith, elevating Mortlock to the captaincy. In June 2007,

Greg Growden Greg Growden (1959/1960 – 14 November 2020) was an Australian sports journalist, author and biographer. Life Growden was born in Adelaide, the son of Port Adelaide Football Club player Kevin Growden. The family moved to a rice farm at Coleamba ...

, Chief Rugby Correspondent for the

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

said that "several high-ranking

Australian Rugby Union Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It is a ...

sources told the Herald that Gregan was the "raging hot favourite" to be Australia's World Cup captain" However, when the World Cup squad was announced, Mortlock was named Captain, whilst Waugh and Gregan were named vice captains. In the 2007 Rugby World Cup - Pool B match against

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

he equalled

Will Carling William David Charles Carling (born 12 December 1965) is an English former rugby union player. He was England's youngest captain, aged 22, and won 72 caps from 1988 to 1996, captaining England 59 times. Under his captaincy, England won Five N ...

's record of captaining an international side for 59 times and in the

2009 Tri Nations Series The 2009 Tri Nations Series was the fourteenth annual Tri Nations Series, Tri Nations rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand, Australia national rugby union team, Australia ...

Springbok The springbok or springbuck (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first Species description, described by the Germa ...

John Smit John William Smit, OIS, (born 3 April 1978) is a South African former professional rugby union player and former chief executive officer of the Sharks. He was the 50th captain of the Springbok rugby union team and led the team to win the 2007 ...

equalled and beaten his (as well as Carling) record in tests between New Zealand in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

and

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

respectively.

Post-Australia

On 18 June 2008 it was announced that he had joined

Suntory Sungoliath Tokyo Sungoliath (formerly known as Suntory Sungoliath) is owned by the Suntory beverage company and is one of the Japanese rugby union teams in the Top League. The team is based in Fuchū, Tokyo, as is their local rival Toshiba Brave Lupus. The t ...

in Japan, following a season at

RC Toulonnais Rugby Club Toulonnais (), also referred to as Rugby Club Toulon or simply Toulon, is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon and competing in the Top 14. Located on the French Riviera, in the Provence region, the club plays its h ...

in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

Post-playing retirement

In 2012, Gregan was assistant coach at the Brumbies. In 2014, Gregan joined the Fox-Sports Rugby commentator team, along with his former Wallabies teammate

. Pitch-side at the Hong Kong Sevens in March 2014, former Ireland and British and Irish Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll and former Australia captain

demonstrated their skills to Bloomberg TV Anchor John Dawson.

GG's Espresso/Gregan Group

In the late 1990s, Gregan and his wife had started planning for his post-playing career. Formulating plans for a coffee shop business, in 1998 he counted and then surveyed commuters at Wynyard station. The first GG's Espresso shop opened in 1999, and presently there are 9 GG's Espresso cafes across Sydney and

. These form the basis of a wider food and hospitality business, The Gregan Group, which turned over Aus$10M and employs 280 people.

Honours

;

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

;

Rugby Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...

: 2007–08 ;

All-Japan Rugby Football Championship The All-Japan Rugby Football Championship (日本ラグビーフットボール選手権大会 ''Nihon Ragubi- Futtobo-ru Senshuken Taikai'') is played at the end of the season and is doubling as the title playoff in the Top League. The first champ ...

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

;

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

* Tri-Nations:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

: 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 ;General *Appointed as a member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in June 2004 for his services to Rugby Union Football and in particular as the Captain of the Wallabies. *Inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

in 2009. * Inducted into the

World Rugby Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and othe ...

(then known as the IRB Hall of Fame) in 2013. * Inaugural inductee to University of Canberra Sport Walk of Fame.

Notes

References

External links

*
George Gregan 'Get on the Team' website.

George Gregan on Sporting Heroes

Piece about Gregan at BBC

Another recent piece about Gregan at BBC

Article on Gregan as a great footballer, not just a great halfback
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregan, George 1973 births Living people Australia international rugby union players Australian Institute of Sport rugby union players Zimbabwean people of Australian descent Zimbabwean emigrants to Australia Australia national rugby union team captains Australian rugby union players ACT Brumbies players Australian expatriate rugby union players in France Australian expatriate rugby union players in Japan University of Canberra alumni World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Rugby union players from Canberra RC Toulon players Rugby union scrum-halves Tokyo Sungoliath players 1995 Rugby World Cup players 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players People educated at St Edmund's College, Canberra Australian company founders Food and drink company founders