John Kirwan

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Lore & Background

Kirwan played for Auckland in the 1980s and 1990s, when they dominated New Zealand rugby. He played in 63 tests for New Zealand, and scored 35 tries, making him one of the highest try scorers in international rugby union history. He was part of the New Zealand team that won the first Rugby World Cup in 1987. He also played rugby league for the Auckland Warriors in their first two seasons in 1995 and 1996. After retiring, he moved into coaching, and was the head coach of Japanese club NEC, the Italy and Japan national teams, and the Blues in Super Rugby, until he stepped down in 2015. He has written two books on the subject of mental health, has spoken openly about his battles with depression and been honoured for his services to mental health.

In Their Own Story

In 1995, at age 30, Kirwan made a bold switch to rugby league, signing with the newly formed Auckland Warriors for their debut season. He played on the wing and became the team's top try scorer in the 1996 season, navigating the turbulent Super League war as a staunch opponent of the ARL. His journey didn't end there; after retiring from playing, he transitioned into coaching. In 2007, he took the helm of the Japan national rugby union team. Under his guidance, Japan achieved a historic milestone at the 2007 Rugby World Cup by drawing 12–12 with Canada, finally breaking a 16-year losing streak that spanned 13 matches. He remained coach through the 2011 tournament, where they again drew with Canada, though they lost to New Zealand, France, and Tonga. His coaching tenure ended in controversy when he stepped down from the Blues in 2015 after recording just three wins, an all-time franchise low.

Reader's Guide

Kirwan played for Marist Brothers Old Boys RFC and Auckland domestically, winning 142 caps with the latter. From 1985 to 1989 he also played in Italy, with Benetton Treviso, where he won the Italian championship in 1989. He finished his rugby union playing career with NEC in Japan from 1997 to 1999. He played 63 test matches for New Zealand from 1984 until 1994. He scored 10 tries in five tests against Wales and Australia during 1988. He scored 35 test tries for New Zealand and 67 tries in all appearances with the All Blacks (including non-test matches), which is still the national record. His total of 199 first class tries remains a New Zealand record. He was selected as one of the 'Five players of the year' for the 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988 seasons. In 1986 Kirwan and David Kirk were the only All Blacks not to join the 'rebel' New Zealand Cavaliers team that travelled to apartheid-era South Africa. At age 30 Kirwan signed for the Auckland Warriors for the 1995 ARL season, with a mutual option for 1996. He was the Warriors' top try scorer in the 1996 season. He coached NEC Green Rockets in Japan, and in 2001 became an assistant coach with the Auckland Blues. In 2002, he moved to Italy to become the coach of the Italy national team, which under his guidance recorded two victories over Wales in 2003 and Scotland in 2004. After a winless 2005 Six Nations campaign, he was dismissed on 8 April 2005. At the start of 2007 he was appointed the coach of the Japan national rugby union team. At the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Japan drew 12–12 with Canada. Kirwan remained head coach of Japan through the 2011 Rugby World Cup, when they again drew with Canada. In July 2012, Kirwan was announced as the new coach of the Blues. In the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the Blues finished in 10th place. After re-applying for the role for 2016 and beyond, he was forced to step down following just three wins in the 2015 season. In 2018 he stated that he is not likely to coach again.

Did You Know?

• Kirwan scored 35 test tries for New Zealand, making him one of the highest try scorers in international rugby union history.
• He was part of the New Zealand team that won the first Rugby World Cup in 1987.
• Kirwan has written two books on mental health: 'All Blacks Don't Cry' and 'Stand by Me'.
• He established the Sir John Kirwan Foundation to help young people understand mental health.
• In 2020, he launched a mental wellbeing app called Mentemia.