Glenn Sinclair Eisenhauer

Glenn Eisenhauer, a stalwart of New South Wales Country rugby, was a tireless forward whose invaluable versatility earned him selection on two Wallaby tours in the mid-1970s. Comfortable at both lock and No. 8, Eisenhauer enjoyed a nomadic domestic rugby existence as his working career took him from Easts in Sydney to Warren, Cowra, Young and Armidale.

Eisenhauer’s early years were spent in New Guinea and British North Borneo (now Sabah) where his father worked for the Department of External Affairs. He was educated as a boarder at Sydney’s Barker College and played for the school’s 1st XV in his final year (1964).

Eisenhauer’s first big break came in 1969 when he was chosen in his first representative match, for NSW Country against Sydney. That fixture began a decade long association between Eisenhauer and Country which saw him don the amber jersey against six international touring sides - 1970 v. Scotland (L 15-18), 1971 v. South Africa (L-3-19), 1973 v. Tonga (W 22-11), 1975 v. Japan (W 97-20), 1975 v. England (W 14-13) and 1976 v. Fiji (W 13-11).

In the middle of that period, 1974-75, Eisenhauer was part of what is regarded as the finest Country team of all time. Under the leadership of John Hipwell (Wallaby #519) Country defeated Sydney, Queensland and Victoria to win the 1974 Wallaby Trophy, a memorable victory that followed their successful tour of North America and New Zealand. A year later Country defended their title, defeated Sydney with the infamous “Tap Five”, up-the-jumper ty at T.G.Milner and knocked off both England and Japan to finish the season undefeated. Eisenhauer’s consistency was duly rewarded with selection for the Probables vs. Possibles Wallaby trial from where he won a spot in the 30-man squad for the Sixth Wallabies tour. Disappointingly injury cruelled Eisenhauer’s chance of a Test jersey after he dislocated his shoulder on debut in the uncapped match against Cardiff and missed the next five weeks.

Despite having played for Australia, Eisenhauer did not make his New South Wales debut until 1976 when he partnered Keith Besomo at lock in the Waratahs’ 37-6 win over Fiji at the Sydney Sports Ground. At the end of the year Eisenhauer was selected on the Wallabies’ tour of France and Italy where he found himself named as a reserve for the 1st Test against Les Blues in Bordeaux. Unfortunately, despite being as close as any player to a first Test cap, a debut ultimately eluded him and upon his return home Eisenhauer retired from representative rugby. Fortunately, Eisenhauer was not lost to the game and later became both a selector for NSW Country and team manager (1990-92).

Glenn Eisenhauer played 11 uncapped matches for Australia in a two-year international career.

 

Highlights

1975
Eisenhauer played six uncapped matches for Australia - against Cardiff (L 9-14), Southern Counties at Weston Turville (W 33-14), Glamorgan at Neath (W 51-18), Devon and Cornwall at Exeter (W 23-9), Newport (W 13-7) and Gwent at Pontypool (W 26-15).

1975-76
On the tour to France and Italy, Eisenhauer played five uncapped games - against Littoral at Toulon (W 17-15), a 2nd Division Selection at Perigueux (W 15-9), Armagnac-Bigorre at Tarbes (L 7-16), a Selection Francaise at La Rochelle (W 12-6) and a Selection Francaise at Bourg-en-Bresse (L 7-25)