Dear Editor
Oh dear. The hoary old NZ Herald, once upon a time the failsafe recorder and respecter of everything ‘All Blacks’, has done it again – this time a classical mistake about the history of one of the game’s greats, former All Black loose forward Ian Kirkpatrick.
In a story headed “AB captains agitate for overhaul of rugby laws”, the Herald stated that Kirkpatrick had “made the All Blacks out of Poverty Bay.” Anyone reading that with a smattering of knowledge of New Zealand rugby history would have spluttered over their cornflakes – because the legendary ‘Kirky’ in fact made his All Black debut at the beginning of three magical years (1967-69) with Canterbury!
His last of 33 games for Canterbury brought the triumphal lifting of the Ranfurly Shield in September 1969 to end Hawke’s Bay’s long tenure with the ‘Log’.
After Kirkpatrick joined the Rangiora club in 1967 and was swiftly brought into the Canterbury squad, he played for the New Zealand Under 23 team. He first played for the All Blacks on the unbeaten Fred Allen-Brian Lochore-led tour of 1967. He displaced the great Kel Tremain for the French test on that tour.
In 1968 he began a record run of 38 consecutive tests with three tries in the first test against Australia. No All Black had achieved three tries in a game since 1935. Kirky was a key part in the pack that demolished the touring Welsh in 1969.
Kirky was regarded as one of the greatest loose forwards ever to play the game. Standing 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) and weighing 102 kg (16 st), he was “supremely athletic” and quick. In an era when forwards did not often score tries, his 16 tests tries remained an All Black record until winger Stu Wilson surpassed the mark in 1983.
His try against the 1971 Lions, when he ran more than half the length of the field in a solo effort, is still remembered as one of the rarest feats in the game’s history.
Kirky became All Black captain in 1972, after Brian Lochore and Colin Meads had retired. He led the All Blacks to a series win over Australia and on the 1972-73 tour of Britain and France – when his team just failed to become the first All Blacks to win the Grand Slam. They beat Wales, Scotland and England but then drew 10-all with Ireland after the home team scored in the dying moments.
Kirky remains the only player in history to captain both the North and South Island teams. In all, between 1967 and 1977, he played 113 matches for New Zealand, including 39 tests. In 2003, he was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.
As for the Poverty Bay connection, that’s where Kirkpatrick came from. After three years in the Kings College (Auckland) First XV, he returned to the family farm at Ngatapa. In 1966, he joined his close friend, Hamish Macdonald, in the combined Poverty Bay-East Coast side against the touring British Lions.
In 1967 both Kirkpatrick and Macdonald moved to Canterbury to further their farming careers and both would become All Blacks.
Kirky returned to play for Poverty Bay in 1971-79 and continued his All Black career until 1977.
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