John James Patrick Kirwan,
ONZMThe New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of chivalry established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
,
MBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 16 December 1964) is a New Zealand born
rugby unionRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
footballer turned coach. Kirwan, who played at wing, played 96 times (including 63 test matches) as an
All BlackThe New Zealand national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, is the representative side of New Zealand in rugby union. Rugby union is regarded as the country's national sport...
from 1984 until 1994.
He played
rugby leagueRugby league football is a full-contact form of football, played with a prolate spheroid ball by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. Rugby league is one of the two codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union...
for two seasons in the
Australian Rugby LeagueThe Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
Premiership for the
Auckland WarriorsThe New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league team based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership which is the Southern Hemisphere's elite rugby league championship...
before finishing his playing career with the
NEC clubNEC Green Rockets is a Japanese rugby union team in the Top League. The team's captain is . The previous captain was Takuro Miuchi, who is currently the captain of the Japan national rugby union team. Before the semi-professional Top League was created, the team was just known as "NEC"...
in Japan. He is the current head coach of the
Japan national teamFor the Japanese Rugby League team see Japan national rugby league team.Japan are traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...
.
His Grandfather Jack Kirwan represented New Zealand in rugby league.
Coaching career
In 2002, he moved to Italy to become the coach of the
Italian national rugby teamThe Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri...
, which under his guidance improved, recording historic victories over Wales in 2003 and Scotland in 2004. However after a winless 2005
Six NationsThe Six Nations Championship , known before 2000 as the Five Nations Championship, is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.The Six Nations Championship is the successor to the Five Nations and the Home...
campaign, he was relieved of his managerial duties on 8 April 2005.
For a brief period, Kirwan expressed interest at applying for the role of the coach of Wales following
Mike RuddockMike Ruddock, OBE is a Welsh rugby union coach. He currently coaches Worcester Warriors in the Guinness Premiership and was the coach of the Welsh national rugby union team from 2004 until February 2006.- Playing career :...
's resignation; but decided not to pursue this.
Kirwan was announced by the JRFU as the new
JapanFor the Japanese Rugby League team see Japan national rugby league team.Japan are traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...
coach on 25 October 2006. He acted as team advisor until he took up the head coach role on 1 January 2007.
Interviewed by the Daily Yomiuri just after his appointment was announced he said: "The level of rugby has improved greatly in Japan in the last 10 years and they did well at the last World Cup. But their recent performances at national level have [not been good]. I want to find that 'Samurai Spirit' that all the players can identify with. And then that style of rugby can start to spread downwards throughout the country."
On 9 April 2007 the national team was featured at their first training camp since Kirwan's appointment in the
NHKNHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization...
national news, a sign of the growing expectation and interest in his team. He said in front of the camera: "We want to be the world's fittest team". He added that he wanted Japan to play to its strengths which he said were speed and agility, and to play rugby that "big men don't like."
Rugby World Cup coaching record
- Two wins over Tonga and Canada when coaching Italy in RWC 2003.
- One 12-12 draw with Canada when coaching Japan in RWC 2007, breaking a 16-year 13-match losing sequence.
Other details
- He is a public figure in New Zealand for the awareness of mental illness, due to suffering depression. His name appears in New Zealand English where depression may be called "a case of the Kirwans". On 4 June 2007, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of chivalry established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
for his services to mental health awareness. He had been appointed a Member of the Order of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1989 for his rugby career.
- Kirwan scored 67 tries in all matches for the New Zealand All Blacks which is the current record
- His 199 first class tries is also a record for New Zealand first class rugby.
- He speaks fluent Italian and is married to an Italian with three children.
- He speaks fluent Japanese so that he can coach his Japanese team efficiently.
External links