John 'Blue' Stanbrook was as unassuming as country rugby legends come.
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From his days terrorising opposition wingers for the Yeoval Eagles, to helping bring to life a club in Tullamore, Stanbrook was looked upon as a great of the game by all those in the Central West.
So when former teammate and current Eagles coach Dick Leach heard of his friend's death on April 27 at the age of 89, a list of stories a mile long came flooding back to him. There's one in particular which is still talked about to this day, that of Stanbrook turning down the opportunity to play for the Wallabies.
"As the story goes, the original letter he sent back to selectors was 'thank you very much for your selection, but I'm sorry, dad said I've got to stay home and feed the pigs," Leach said.
"That's how the story was recounted to us at least."
Stanbrook's list of accomplishments as a rugby player are clear as day.
From lining up for NSW Country against a strong Springboks side in 1956 - a match that prompted the South Africans to rate them a stronger side than the NSW side they played a week before - to scoring a try and kicking three goals for a victorious Central West side against the touring NZ Maori team in 1958, Stanbrook could do it all. He even had the opportunity to face off against the All Blacks in 1957 where he scored the only points for Western NSW (two penalty goals).
"Not many people actually knew what he'd done because he was so unassuming," Leach added.
"It was only a few years after I started playing with him when we happened to be having a few beers at his house and his wife Judy pulled out the scrapbook and we saw what he had done. His quality of play was without a doubt just beautiful to watch."
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It's those same stories told about him that will see Stanbrook's legacy live on forever.
"When he first got picked for NSW, he was quite young," Leach added.
"They were on a tour up in QLD and as he was getting off the bus, the manager said 'Stanbrook, you pick up my bags and take them to my room'.
His reply was 'my name is John and I don't carry bags for (anyone). That was a man who was very straight to the point."
Stanbrook played most of his football as a winger or centre but in 1963 shifted to number 8 in the forwards.
The move was a big success with Yeoval winning the Central West premiership in 1963 and 1964.
He was the husband of the late Judy Stanbrook, father and father-in-law of Tracy, Paul and Sandra, Sandra and Buddhie and Jennifer, pop of Adam, Tegan, Matthew, Zachary, Chloe, Marnie, Thomas, Justin, Andrew, Niamh, Eloise and their families.
Stanbrook was the first person to be awarded life membership of Central West Rugby Union. In 1995, he was awarded a plaque to commemorate this achievement. He was also a Country and State selector in the late 1970s.
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