Chris Lawrence
Dr. John Best is a specialist sports and exercise medicine physician with the Orthosports Group in Sydney. After graduating from the University of Newcastle in 1984, Best was awarded Intern of the Year at St. George Hospital, completed postgraduate studies, and was subsequently awarded a Fellowship with the Australasian College of Sports and Exercise Physicians in 1992. He acts as a Supervisor and an Examiner for the college and serves on its Professional Development Committee.
Best enjoys a number of clinical areas in sports medicine, in particular rugby medicine. He had been heavily involved with the Australian Rugby Union for almost 15 years. This includes serving as the Australian Team (Wallabies) team physician 1994-2000, including the 1999 World Cup tournament when the Wallabies were world champions. His other roles with Australian Rugby include Medical Director, Sports Science Consultant (High-Performance Unit), and Tournament Medical Officer for Rugby World Cup 2003. He has represented Australian Rugby on the International Rugby Board’s Medical Advisory and Anti-doping Committees working in areas of safety and player well-being.
Best and his family completed a working sabbatical in London, which involved working with professional sports clubs. This included the English Premier League Football (Fulham and Charlton Athletic), Professional Rugby (Wasps, Bath, and Leicester Rugby Clubs) and the London Broncos (now Harlequins) Rugby League Club. In 2005, he was appointed as Team Physician for the victorious Southern Hemisphere Rugby Team.