Stephen Charles "Steve" Finnane (born 3 July 1952) was a rugby union player who represented Australia.

Steve Finnane
Birth nameStephen Charles Finnane[1]
Date of birth (1952-07-03) 3 July 1952 (age 72)[1]
Place of birthSydney[1]
SchoolWaverley College & Vaucluse High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) prop[1]
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
Eastern Suburbs ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1975–78[1] Wallabies 6[1] (0[1])

Finnane, a prop, was born in Sydney and claimed a total of six international rugby caps for Australia. He was dubbed the phantom puncher, for a short right uppercut delivered to Welsh player Graham Price in a scrum during the second Test match between the Wallabies and Wales at the SCG on 17 June 1978. The Welshman suffered a shattered jaw.[2] The Wallaby later wrote in a book that he hit Price.

The Wales match proved to be Finnane's last for Australia: although he was selected for the 1979 tour of New Zealand, he declined, choosing to focus on his professional career as a barrister.[3][4] Finnane was admitted as a Barrister in the Supreme court on 6 June 1975. He is the brother of District Court judge Michael Finnane KC[5]

References

edit

SMH 22 August 2010

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Scrum.com player profile of Steve Finnane". Scrum.com. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  2. ^ "The story behind this iconic Welsh rugby picture". 21 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Silk selection ironed out". 21 August 2010.
  4. ^ "| Classic Wallabies".
  5. ^ "Michael Finnane KC". 10 February 2023.