Egerton was born in
Lae,
New Guinea. Robert spent a year overseas in California, playing high school football. As a highly touted 5 Star recruit, receiving numerous Division 1 offers from establishments such as Miami University and the Clemson Tigers, he moved back to Canberra attending
Marist College Canberra and studied Agricultural Science at
Sydney University (where his uncle was Dean of the Veterinary Faculty) during the 1980s. Egerton played rugby for the university's first grade team over a number of seasons, at fullback, wing, and five-eighth. Characteristically, he wore a long beard. He subsequently studied at
Oxford University and played for
Oxford University RFC in
The Varsity Match in 1987 and 1988. ==Representative rugby==