Join our mailing list to stay up to date with the latest news, events, and benefits exclusive to QUT alumni.
After a decade of university, Queensland Reds co-captain Liam Wright is almost over the line on a QUT study journey that is helping convert his rugby leadership expertise into a successful business career.
The 27-year-old first enrolled at QUT back in 2015, completing his Bachelor of Business (Accounting) at the end of 2018 and then returning to the QUT Business School in 2020 to start a Master of Business (Management) part-time.
He now has just three units left and is on track to graduate with his Masters at the end of 2025.
When the Reds take on the Crusaders in a Super Rugby Pacific qualifying final in Christchurch on Friday night, Liam will be supporting from the sidelines, having spent most of this season out with injury.
It’s a situation that has highlighted the importance of leadership on and off the field.
With Queensland Rugby Union (QRU), his broad leadership over the years has included supporting players during games, training and broader life, coaching and mentoring, and liaising with sponsors, charities and government representatives.
In recent years, he has combined his Reds and university commitments with a growing role as a business leadership consultant.
This work sees him talk to business clients around Queensland – and beyond – on topics including leadership, high performance and team building.
Liam said he chose to study business at QUT because he thought it was a natural fit with the opportunities rugby had given him and would ‘future-proof’ his career.
“The year I started the Master of Business was the first year I got given the captaincy of the Queensland Reds,” he said.
“I see a lot of parallels between rugby captaincy and business leadership; they both have a lot of relationships you have to nurture.
“In rugby, you have to be the link between the players and the coaches and the staff, and you have to work with sponsors and stakeholders and the community. There are a lot of similarities with businesspeople and how they interact with people inside and outside of their businesses.”
Liam said he thought good leaders on and off the field shared similar traits.
“You have to be quite genuine – I think you get found out pretty quickly if you’re someone you’re not – and you have to care about people,” he said.
“And you’ve got to have your own backyard in order before you can tell anyone else what to do in their backyard. So it’s important to lead by example.”
Liam was born in South Africa and moved to Australia with his family when he was seven.
He began his senior rugby career with Easts Tigers in 2016 and was selected in the Australian Under-20 team that same year.
He first captained the Queensland Reds in 2020 when he was just 22.
He’s now held that role for six years, sharing the job with co-captain Tate McDermott for the past four seasons.
He was also made the Wallabies’ captain number 89 in July last year.
But his time wearing the national captain’s armband was cut short by a shoulder injury, with the ongoing complaint seeing him miss the end of last season and most of this season too.
It follows several other significant injuries over the years that have impacted his rugby – and underlined the importance of resiliency and a broad approach to life.
“Ideally I wouldn’t have gone through all those injuries, but I do believe now I have a lot more skills to take into my life,” Liam said.
“I had six or seven surgeries between my last Wallabies test in 2019 and my return in 2024. When I got there again, I was in a much better place.
“A lot of people face challenges. It may not feel like it at the time (when bad things happen), but it’s not going to be a final moment, it’s a period of growth – even if it’s forced growth.
“Resiliency is a skill that’s a lot more valued by teammates and co-workers and bosses than many people think.”
Liam said studying at university had added to his resiliency by broadening his focus.
“I did a year in 2019 without any study and that year I found I didn’t have enough balance in my life … if I didn’t have a good game and footy wasn’t going well, I felt out of whack,” he said.
“Study helps me find balance in my life and have another purpose.”
Like many sportspeople, he’s also discovered over the years that he’s a natural student.
“I enjoy the routine of study – you get a lot of routine with being an elite athlete and being a student,” he said.
“A lot of it’s about discipline; it needs to be done so you get it done. I’m pretty proud of keeping my GPA up (6.75 out of a possible 7) and maintaining and enjoying those good routines.”
Liam also credits QUT’s Elite Sport Program and the university’s flexible study options with enabling him to successfully navigate sport and study.
The majority of his classes are online, allowing him to choose when he watches his lectures and merge his uni work into his already busy schedule.
The Elite Sport Program also helps arrange extensions if his rugby commitments clash with assessment deadlines.
Liam said he’d particularly enjoyed the hands-on leadership and entrepreneurial challenges that were part of his postgraduate course.
“One of the things I’ve learned from my studies is how to really get to the bottom of the problem and what the crux is and then find the solution … I’ve been able to apply that to rugby in areas like why we might not be playing the game style we want to at a certain time,” he said.
“And I think in sport and business, plenty of people are willing to throw advice at you. You have to be able to take in all the information you can and then sift through it. I think I get a lot of those skills from the research side of uni.”
QUT is the Queensland Reds’ education partner.
- For more information about studying business at QUT, visit the undergraduate and postgraduate study pages.
- People can also attend information seminars and tours and chat to current business students and staff at the QUT Open Day on July 27.
QUT Media contacts:
- Mechelle McMahon, media@qut.edu.au
- After hours, 0407 585 901 or media@qut.edu.au
