Bradford Geoffrey Girvan

Brad Girvan was a great servant of ACT rugby who enjoyed a brief Wallaby career before the arrival of arguably Australia’s greatest centre pairing - Tim Horan and Jason Little. Born and bred in Canberra, Girvan was a tough and dedicated centre who earned a reputation as an excellent cover defender.

Educated at Dickson College his first taste of representative rugby was with the Australian U21s in 1982 alongside fellow future Wallabies David Campese, Michael Lynagh, Steve Tuynman, Tom Lawton, Jeff MIller and Brett Papworth. He went on to represent the ACT in what was a golden period for the territory. They humbled Argentina 35-9 in 1983, beat Fiji 34-23 in 1985 and a year later drew 18-18 with France.

1988 proved to be a breakthrough year for Girvan. Despite the ACT’s 3-16 loss to the touring All Blacks, Girvan was selected for the Wallabies’ 15-match tour of England, Scotland and Italy. With Ian Williams not on the tour James Grant was pushed out a spot to right wing and Girvan made his Test debut against England at Twickenham. That match was the Wallabies’ third loss from their previous four Tests and the selectors revamped the backline for the following Tests against Scotland and Italy with Lloyd Walker brought into inside centre and Michael Cook moved to No.13.

Brad Girvan played one Test for Australia and will always be Wallaby #672.

Highlights

1981

Represented Australian U21s

1982

Represented Australian U21s against Fiji U21 (47-4) and New Zealand U21 (36-12)

1983

Represented Australian U21s when they defeated New Zealand U21s 26-18.

1988

Girvan won his first Test cap as the starting outside centre alongside Michael Cook in the 19-28 loss to England at Twickenham.