Revered NSW Waratah, Wallaby and former Lord Mayor of Sydney Sir Nicholas Shehadie is among five legendary Australians to be recognised in Allianz Stadium’s Ring of Champions, a modern celebration of sporting greats around the concourse of the state-of-the-art venue.
Minister for Sport Alister Henskens today announced that Sir Nicholas Sehadie, Arthur Beetson, Ron Coote, Betty Cuthbert, and Johnny Warren are the first five honourees at Allianz Stadium, which will officially open on Sunday.
Shehadie, a truly remarkable Australian and former NSW and Wallaby captain, made an incredible contribution to Australian rugby as both a player and administrator through his time as Chairman of NSW Rugby Union, President of Australian Rugby Union, and the Lord Mayor of Sydney
Shehadie made his first-grade debut for his beloved Randwick at the tender age of 15 and just a year later made his first representative appearance for New South Wales. He would make his Test debut against New Zealand in 1947 and represented Australia on 114 occasions including captaining the side in three of his 30 Test appearances.
As an administrator Shehadie was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Rugby World Cup during his time as President of Australian Rugby Union and had a long affiliation with the previous iteration of Allianz Stadium overseeing the building of the original stadium during his time as Chairman of the SCG Trust board.
Minister for Sport Mr Henskens was joined friends and family of the honourees at Allianz Stadium on Thursday to confirm the inclusions.
“Betty Cuthbert’s feat of winning Olympic Gold in the 100m, 200m and 400m is still yet to be matched and she set or equalled three world records at the old Sydney Sports Ground during her career,” Mr Henskens said.
“Nick Shehadie’s contribution to our city across sport, politics, media, and much more is unmatched, and Johnny Warren taught us all to love the beautiful game.
“In rugby league, it is fitting that we honour Arthur Beetson and Ron Coote, two great players and two great Australians, who won grand finals and represented their clubs, NSW and Australia at Moore Park.”
Venues NSW chairman Tony Shepherd AO said the first five members of the Ring of Champions would be joined by more greats in the future.
“The Ring of Champions is a modern solution for a modern stadium, so it will reflect the changing nature of the sports that draw people to our venues, including the rise of elite women’s team sport that is driving so much interest and excitement,” Mr Shepherd said.
“I thank the SCG Heritage Trust for the important foundational and educational work they completed on this task and look forward to the next phase of celebrating our sporting greats.”
Allianz Stadium will be officially opened this Sunday 28 August with a free community day and night delivered in partnership between Venues NSW, Destination NSW, and leading Sydney events company Rizer.
The community day will give fans the opportunity to meet their favourite NSW Waratahs players and be among the first to lace up their shoes in the changerooms by taking a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium.
