A bashful John Eales says the teamwork immortalised in bronze outside Suncorp Stadium is alive and well in Australian rugby today and breeding “hope and belief” in a World Cup year.

The former Queensland and Australian captain became the first non-rugby league player to have a statue erected in his honour at the Brisbane landmark on Monday.

Eales admitted he knocked back the offer several times, but concedes the monument is great for the code and sends a timely message to the Wallabies and their supporters.