Sport
12 May, 2025
John Vinson’s Rugby Journey
Hodgson Vale’s John Vinson added another major achievement to his Rugby CV when the Irish team he plays for, Clontarf, won a thrilling Grand Final in the All - Ireland Leagues Men’s Division A.
John was a Queensland Country Blue Heelers representative player who seems to have been born to play Rugby.
Initially growing up in Charters Towers in a rugby mad family, John began to follow in his father’s footsteps when he began playing junior Rugby at 10 years of age alongside his brother Tom.
When the Vinson family moved to Hodgson Vale, John went to Downlands College for his High School education and naturally the school’s Rugby tradition suited him perfectly.
Taking a gap year after Year, 12 John then enrolled in Agribusiness and Sustainable Agriculture degrees at Gatton while still pursuing his rugby ambitions playing for the Darling Downs team.
At this point John and his brother Tom ended up going head to head with Tom playing for Townsville up against John’s Darling Downs team in the Country Rugby Championships at the home of Queensland Rugby, Ballymore in Brisbane.
John’s Rugby career took a giant step forward when he was selected and named captain of the Queensland Country Blue Heelers team.
As rugby training and university studies dominated his life, it was at this point that John faced a major hurdle when he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
With characteristic courage and determination he set about overcoming the periods of acute tiredness caused by the diabetes with professional help to manage his training and accepting an implant to manage his blood sugar levels.
In 2022 John Vinson and Brendan Morgan shared the prestigious title of Queensland Country’s Best Rugby player in what must be an inspirational achievement for all those suffering from Type 1 Diabetes.
Deciding to follow his rugby journey overseas John travelled to Ireland where he initially played for the Trinity College University team in Dublin while also continuing his Masters degree in Business Studies.
The Clontarf Rugby Club in Dublin then signed him up to play and this move culminated in Clontarf meeting the reigning premiers Cork Constitution in the Grand Final last week.
In a match where the lead changed several times, Clontarf eventually won 22-21 with the Irish Examiner newspaper saying: “No.8 John Vinson had been making great ground with big carries through the Cork Con midfield.”
The win was a proud moment no doubt for John, made even better with his mother Nora, and sister Meg sitting in the grandstand having flown over from Australia for the match.
From Hodgson Vale to Dublin, Ireland is quite a journey but John Vinson has used his Rugby obsession to great advantage in his life.
John loves the mateship that playing Rugby fosters.
“I can’t imagine life without footy,” he said.
