Mario Fenech (nicknamed "The Maltese Falcon", “Falcon”, or "Muzza"; born 11 November 1961) is a Maltese Australian rugby league personality. He is a former player of the game who had a lengthy career in the New South Wales/Australian Rugby League in the 1980s and 1990s. His favoured position was as hooker, where he represented New South Wales in State of Origin. In his later career, he became a prop-forward. A legendary figure for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, he captained the club for five seasons from 1986 to 1990.
 Fenech in 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 11 November 1961[1] Valletta, Malta | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Hooker, Prop, Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league career
editAfter his retirement from the ARL, Fenech represented Malta in a rugby league sevens tournament.[4]
On 5 July 1988, Fenech (playing at hooker) was given the honour of captaining a Prime Minister's XIII side (a team that included past, current or future internationals Mal Meninga, Greg Alexander, Mark Geyer, Gavin Miller, David Gillespie and Glenn Lazarus) against the touring Great Britain Lions. The match, played in wet and muddy conditions at Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan (near Canberra), saw the Don Furner-coached side defeat the tourists 24–16.[5]
Post-rugby league career
editSince retiring from football, Fenech has been involved in the entertainment industry. In 2001, his book What's Doing? was published. He was a regular contributor (and butt of jokes) on The Footy Show, and has appeared on numerous other TV shows, including Pizza, and made a brief cameo in the rugby league-based film Footy Legends. During his stint on The Footy Show, footage was repeatedly replayed of him being unwittingly hit on the head with a football during a game between the Crushers and the Parramatta Eels in 1995; this clip led to the dubious honour of any inadvertent contact being made between the ball and the head of a player (in any sport, not necessarily rugby league) being dubbed a "Falcon" in the Australian lexicon. In 2022, Fenech's wife Rebecca revealed that Fenech often resented the way he was treated on The Footy Show.[6]
Fenech ran as a local candidate in the City of Randwick in the 2012 New South Wales council election.[7]
Personal life
editFenech is an observant Catholic and was educated in the Catholic School system. He is married and has two children with his wife.[4]
In 2016, Fenech revealed that he was suffering from early onset dementia, which he believes to be the result of years of head knocks and concussions suffered during his rugby career.[6] By 2022 he had lost most of his memory of his playing career.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Captain in Focus: Mario Fenech". 29 December 2019.
- ^ Rugby League Project
- ^ Yesterday's Hero
- ^ a b Catholic Weekly article Archived 8 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 1988 President's XIII vs Great Britain
- ^ a b "Footy Show mocked cult hero Mario Fenech when it knew he was sick". News.com.au.
- ^ "Mario Fenech to rejuvenate home suburb of Maroubra if elected to Randwick Council". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney.
- ^ "MARIO FENECH reveals he has little memory of his legendary NRL career this weekend on 7NEWS SPOTLIGHT". TV Black Box.