Former Brumbies and Wallabies player Scott Fardy sells O’Connor home

Former Brumbies and Wallabies star Scott Fardy’s three-bedroom O’Connor home is on the market.

Mr Fardy, who now resides in Japan, purchased the property at 35 Quandong Street, O’Connor, in 2015.

“When we bought the house, it was in awful condition,” he said.

“But we saw potential in it. It was in such a beautiful tree-lined street, conveniently located near everything we needed at the time … it just needed a little love, really.”

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So, Mr Fardy and his wife, Penelope, went to work on revamping the 769-square-metre property.

“We re-insulated the entire house because it was really good, installed a new wraparound deck, redid the weatherboards and created an open-plan and accessible kitchen,” he said.

“And when we pulled out the carpet inside, we discovered that it had great floorboards, so we sanded all that back and revived it to make it look nice.”

Other features of the home include floor-to-ceiling tiling in the bathroom, a free-standing bath, a single-car garage with storage and a private and spacious backyard.

Mr Fardy played for the Brumbies between 2012 to 2017 and was a regular Wallabies selection alongside former Brumbies players Michael Hooper and David Pocock.

The back-rower lived in the property for two years before he moved to Dublin, Ireland, to join the provincial rugby union team, Leinster Rugby. Since then, the house has been rented out.

“We wanted to come back and raise our family there but we ended up staying in Ireland for four years before moving to Japan,” he said.

“My favourite memory while living there was our last Christmas before my wife and I got married and before we had kids. It was just the two of us in our home … it’s one of my favourite Christmas’ we’ve had.”

While it is a bittersweet parting for the couple, it’s by no means the end of Mr Fardy’s connection to Canberra, who has co-owned The Dock in Kingston since 2014.

“We’re not yet done with Canberra … I was actually planning to come back last year to visit and while we did come to Australia, it was during peak lockdown, so we couldn’t really go anywhere,” Mr Fardy said.

“But when the season finishes in May or June, I plan on coming back to visit family and friends who I haven’t seen in years … and, of course, visit Canberra.”