The John Eales Medal is awarded to honour the best Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 player each year. The medal, which was launched in 2002, is jointly awarded each year by the Australian Rugby Union

Australian Rugby Union

The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory...

 and the Rugby Union Players Association

Rugby Union Players Association

The Rugby Union Players' Association is the representative body for professional rugby union players in Australia. It was formed in October 1995 in response to the professionalism of rugby.-Members:Its members comprise the following:...

.

The medal is named after John Eales

John Eales

John Eales AM is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby.-Early life:...

, arguably the most successful captain in the history of Australian Rugby.

Voting for the John Eales Medal is tallied after each Test Match, with each Wallaby

Australia national rugby union team

The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...

 player awarding points on a 3-2-1 basis.

RUPA Chief Executive Tony Dempsey is quoted as saying:

This is the ultimate award. To be voted the best in your country by your own peers is the highest honour a player can hope to aspire to. Naming this award after Australia's most successful captain ever is fully endorsed by the Players. This has become one of the most sought after and coveted awards in Australian sport.

List of winners

• 2002: George Smith
  George Smith (rugby player)
  George Smith is an Australian rugby union player. He is a flanker for Toulon. He won 110 caps for Australia before retiring from international rugby on 5 February 2010. He made his Test debut in 2000 against France in Paris and he is the most capped Wallaby forward, and the most capped flanker in...
  
  
• 2003: Phil Waugh
  Phil Waugh
  Phillip Waugh is an Australian rugby union player, widely regarded as one of the world's leading flankers.His career as a player began at the Shore School, Captaining the school's team in 1997...
  
  
• 2004: David Lyons
  David Lyons
  David Lyons plays Number Eight for the Wallabies.-Playing career:From his debut in 2000 Lyons played 83 consecutive games for Waratahs, a record for Australian players. His run ended when a knee injury forced him to miss the start of the 2007 season...
  
  
• 2005: Jeremy Paul
  Jeremy Paul
  Jeremy Paul is a New Zealand-born Australia rugby union player. He played hooker and prop for the wallabies and the ACT Brumbies.At the end of 2005, Paul was awarded the John Eales Medal, receiving 194 votes from his teammates...
  
  
• 2006: Chris Latham
  Chris Latham (rugby player)
  Chris Latham is an Australian rugby union player, who played fullback for the Worcester Warriors, following a long career with the Queensland Reds and Australia....
  
  
• 2007: Nathan Sharpe
  Nathan Sharpe
  Nathan Sharpe is an Australian rugby union player. He plays lock and is the captain of the Western Force.-Early career:...
  
  
• 2008: George Smith
  George Smith (rugby player)
  George Smith is an Australian rugby union player. He is a flanker for Toulon. He won 110 caps for Australia before retiring from international rugby on 5 February 2010. He made his Test debut in 2000 against France in Paris and he is the most capped Wallaby forward, and the most capped flanker in...
  
  
• 2009: Matt Giteau
  Matt Giteau
  Matthew Giteau is an Australian rugby union footballer, a former international who now plays for the French Top 14 side Toulon. He attended St Edmund's College, Canberra, which has produced other Wallabies including George Gregan, Matt Henjak and the former rugby league star and now coach Ricky...
  
  
• 2010: David Pocock
• 2011: Kurtley Beale
  Kurtley Beale
  Kurtley Beale is an Australian representative rugby union player. His primary position is fullback.- Youth :Beale signed to the Waratahs while a 16 year old at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill. Before leaving school Beale captained the Australian Schoolboys and regularly attended training...