Sitting next to his wife of 22 years, Mandy, at the Rugby Australia Awards at Royal Randwick Racecourse on Friday night, former Wallabies No.8 and Gunnedah farmer, Tim Gavin had no idea he was about to join the sport’s most prestigious club in Australia – Wallaby Hall of Fame inductee.

Mandy knew, and so did the couple’s three sons, Archie, Toby and Harry, who were “waiting in the wings” at the event – appearing when the honour was bestowed, Gavin said. 

“It was a great surprise – didn’t have a clue,” said Gavin, who played 47 Tests between 1988 and 1996 and 63 games for NSW, including 30 as captain.  “It was a great honour,” he added.

The former Gunnedah Red Devils coach, who has operated the farming and grazing property, located just south of Gunnedah, for 21 years, said it was “difficult to explain” what it meant to have his name etched on an honour roll with the best of the best, but he tried: “So many guys I’ve looked up to aren’t on that roll. It’s quite extraordinary. I’m quite humbled by the whole experience.”

Like the outstanding team man he was, the Rugby Australia senior vice-president paid tribute to his wife for “holding the fort” while be pursued his administrative career in the sport after hanging up the boots, including a NSW Rugby Union president stint, as he “spread the gospel, according to rugby”.

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Respected rugby journalist Greg Growden wrote about Gavin in a 2017 ESPN piece, saying that in recent years Australia had “struggled to find a similarly angular, powerful and consistent selection at No.8”. 

“In the late 1980s-mid 90s, Gavin provided that service for the Wallabies with such aplomb that for several years he was rated the best No.8 in world rugby,” Growden wrote.

“Due to his second-row background, Gavin was a lineout dominator. He backed that up by being a formidable scrummager and masterful open play footballer. During his 47 Test appearances, Gavin was an attacking weapon, while Australia, boasting a quality backline, benefited from precise, intelligent back-row play.”

Gavin’s former Wallabies and Waratahs teammate, Phil Kearns, was also inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday night, when David Pocock won the John Eales Medal, as Australia’s best player. 

Other Hall of Fame inductees include Eales, Mark Ella, David Campese and Nick Farr-Jones.

The Wallabies, who embark on a three-Test tour of the UK and Italy next month, have slumped to No.7 in the world rankings, but Gavin “can see” the side soon emerging from the gloom: “I mean, they’ve got the personnel to do it, there’s no doubt about it.

“They’re well aware of who they're playing for – they’re playing for the people back in Australia and themself and their family, and they’ve just got to put it together. Once it clicks ...”