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John
Kirwan

John Kirwan is a former player and coach who remains a giant of rugby in New Zealand. Discover more about his life and career with rugby gurus RugbyPass.

John Kirwan Bio

John Kirwan is a former player and coach who enjoyed a highly distinguished career in both codes of the game. John Kirwan was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.

Born 16 December 1964, John Kirwan made 142 appearances for Auckland between 1983 and 1994. During the same period, he also represented Marist (1983-94), Treviso (1985-89) and Thiene (1989-90). Following this, he finished his domestic career with the NEC Green Rockets in Japan (1997-99).

In addition to this, as well as being a highly distinguished rugby union player, John Kirwan also spent a period of his career playing rugby league. Between 1995 and 1996, he made 35 appearances for the Auckland Warriors and was the side’s top try scorer in 1996.

However, John Kirwan undoubtedly experienced his greatest successes playing rugby union. Due to this, during his rugby union career, he was capped 63 times by the All Blacks. During this period, he was a member of the All Blacks side that went 23 games unbeaten between 1987 and 1990. As part of this stretch, he won the Rugby World Cup.

After retiring from rugby in 1999, John Kirwan stayed with the NEC Green Rockets and became the club’s coach. Then, in 2001, he left to become an assistant with the Blues. Since, he’s held a number of coaching positions, including stints as the head coach of the Blues and Barbarians. He’s also been the head coach of Japan and Italy. He last held a coaching position in 2015.

Thanks to the success he experienced in the game, John Kirwan was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2012. He was also inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2014.

Since retirement, John Kirwan has also been open about his battle with his mental health and depression. As a result, he remains actively involved in mental health and depression awareness campaigns in New Zealand.

Fixtures & Results

Sat Aug 8, 2026
3:05am PDT
Hanazono Rugby Stadium
Japan Japan
-
3:05am
Australia Australia
LIVE
0
0
12:00pm PDT
Estadio José Amalfitani
Argentina Argentina
-
12:00pm
South Africa South Africa
LIVE
0
0
Fri Aug 14, 2026
10:15pm PDT
Queensland Country Bank Stadium
Australia Australia
-
10:15pm
Japan Japan
LIVE
0
0
Sat Aug 22, 2026
8:00am PDT
Ellis Park
South Africa South Africa
-
8:00am
New Zealand New Zealand
LIVE
0
0
Sat Aug 29, 2026
8:00am PDT
DHL Stadium
South Africa South Africa
-
8:00am
New Zealand New Zealand
LIVE
0
0
12:00pm PDT
Estadio 23 de Agosto
Argentina Argentina
-
12:00pm
Australia Australia
LIVE
0
0
Fri Sep 4, 2026
10:50pm PDT
Denka Big Swan Stadium
Japan Japan
-
10:50pm
Canada Canada
LIVE
0
0
Sat Sep 5, 2026
8:00am PDT
FNB Stadium
South Africa South Africa
-
8:00am
New Zealand New Zealand
LIVE
0
0
12:00pm PDT
Estadio Malvinas Argentinas
Argentina Argentina
-
12:00pm
Australia Australia
LIVE
0
0
Sat Sep 12, 2026
8:05am PDT
M&T Bank Stadium
South Africa South Africa
-
8:05am
New Zealand New Zealand
LIVE
0
0
Sun Sep 27, 2026
2:45am PDT
Optus Stadium
Australia Australia
-
2:45am
South Africa South Africa
LIVE
0
0
Fri Oct 9, 2026
11:10pm PDT
Eden Park
New Zealand New Zealand
-
11:10pm
Australia Australia
LIVE
0
0
Fri Oct 16, 2026
10:00pm PDT
Accor Stadium
Australia Australia
-
10:00pm
New Zealand New Zealand
LIVE
0
0
Fri Apr 10, 2026
10:00am PDT
Stadion Park Mladeži
Croatia Croatia
-
10:00am
Mexico Mexico
LIVE
0
0
Fri Apr 3, 2026
FT
Marketa Stadium
Czech Republic Czech Republic
-
5:00am
Mexico Mexico
LIVE
54
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