JAMES RUSSELL ROXBURGH: 1946 – 2024 In Graaff-Reinet, a farming town north of the Cape, three Wallabies of the1969 tour to South Africa were being ferried back to their hotel after a hard training session. In the back of a vehicle driven by a local inhabitant, front-row prop James Roxburgh was arguing with breakaway Barry McDonald that he was clearly the faster runner of the two. Sitting in the front, this writer strove to maintain normal discourse with the bemused local.
When the car reached the base of a steep, winding hill leading to the Australians’ hotel, Roxburgh leaned forward and said to the driver “Mind letting us out here, mate?“. The two players alighted and immediately began a flat-out sprint up the hill. As McDonald pulled away, Roxburgh grabbed a handful of his opponent’s jersey and pulled him backwards.
James Roxburgh, Wallaby, teacher and handyman. Whether playing with Sydney University or on tour with the Wallabies, James Roxburgh had a habit of challenging one or other of his inner group of teammates regarding some skill or other, be it intellectual or physical, at which neither individual was necessarily outstanding, but each was intent on proving they were better than the other. There was much humour, much tongue in cheek; but the intensity of Roxburgh’s competitive nature was always in play.
Wallaby James Roxburgh’s “competitive nature was always in play”. His first experience of a wider world was unforgettable. Coming at a time of US an.