Founding & Honorary Members
We are humbled & extremely grateful to have a number of former All Black and Provincial Greats of the game amongst our founding members.
Founding Members
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Ian Kirkpatrick »
Ian Kirkpatrick
Like all of those great flankers, "Kirky", who played 39 tests between 1967 and 1977, was supremely athletic, fast, fearless and with an uncanny sense of anticipation. But one important measure - try scoring - puts him at the head of the list.
His tally of 16 test tries was astonishing for the era. Even today, when high-scoring tests are common and the All Blacks regularly play the minnows of the international game, only two forwards have scored more tries than him - and neither has a better tries-per-test record.
- Clubs: Ngatapa
- Provincial: Poverty Bay, Canterbury
- National: New Zealand All Blacks
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Bruce Robertson »
Bruce Robertson
Robertson played 135 matches for Counties between 1971 and 1982, making his debut for the union at the age of 19. He was the All Black centre for much of the 1970s, and was admired for his pace, silky pass and swerve, and his thinking approach to the game.
He is widely regarded as one of the best centres in New Zealand rugby history. He did play against all-white South African teams during the Apartheid era, in common with many All Blacks at the time. However, he declared himself unable to play against the Springboks during the New Zealand 1981 tour. This was due to his ‘personal abhorrence of apartheid,’ following his tour of South Africa.
- Provincial: Counties
- Super Rugby: New Zealand All Blacks
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Stu Wilson »
Stu Wilson
A prolific try scorer, Stu Wilson was a powerful wing with pace and style. He quickly progressed through the junior and provincial ranks before making his test debut in November 1977 at the age of 22, in an 18-13 defeat against the French in Toulouse. Stu would go on to score nineteen tries in thirty-four tests, making him New Zealand’s record scorer until being equalled by Terry Wright and then overhauled by another great winger, John Kirwan. An immensely popular player Stu scored fifty tries in all games for the All Blacks.
- Provincial: Wellington
- National: New Zealand All Blacks
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Wayne “Buck” Shelford »
Wayne “Buck” Shelford
Buck” Shelford MBE represented and captained the All Blacks in the 1980s. He was an integral member of the world cup winning team of 1987 and is also credited with bringing about the improved performance of the All Blacks’ traditional “Ka Mate” haka. He was controversially dropped as an unbeaten captain inciting the ‘bring back buck’ public campaign which lived on for years afterwards.
- Clubs: North Shore, Wasps, Northampton, Rugby Roma
- Provincial: Auckland, North Harbour
- National: New Zealand Navy, New Zealand Maori, New Zealand All Blacks
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Ian Jones »
Ian Jones
Nicknamed Kamo, he played 79 tests for the All Blacks and is the most capped lock and formed one of the most famous lock pairings in international rugby, often partnered with Robin Brooke in the All Blacks from 1992 to 1998. What Jones lacked in size he more than made up for in skill and athleticism.
- Clubs: Kamo, Gloucester, London Wasps
- Provincial: North Auckland, North Harbour
- Super Rugby: Chiefs
- National: New Zealand All Blacks
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David Holwell »
David Holwell
A gritty fly half, Holwell played for Wellington and Northland in the NPC, and for the Hurricanes and Blues in Super Rugby. He also had a couple of stints with Leinster in 2005 and 2008.
- Clubs: Mid Northern
- Provincial: Northland, Wellington
- Super Rugby: Hurricanes, Blues
- National: New Zealand A
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Glen Taylor »
Glen Taylor
A lock and flanker, Taylor captained Northland at provincial level for 13 years, amassing 143 caps. At Super rugby level he played for the Chiefs, Hurricanes and Blues. He had two stints with the All Blacks, in 1992 and 1996, playing six matches and one test.
- Clubs: Horahora
- Provincial: Northland, Wellington
- Super Rugby: Chiefs, Hurricanes, Blues
- National: New Zealand All Blacks
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Justin Collins »
Justin Collins
Justin ‘Gus’ Collins, initially thought rugby was “just a strange game” - born in Tasmania, he was raised on Aussie Rules until moving to Whangarei sorted out his thinking.
Now known as a Super Rugby centurion, having played for over 10 years in the competition and amassing more than 104 games all up. The key figure and leader played as a loose forward for both the Blues and Chiefs Super Rugby teams and played an impressive 114 matches for Northland in the Provincial competition.
A proud Northland and father of two, Gus is also a long-serving Board member of the Players Association.
- Clubs: Kamo, Marist
- Provincial: Northland, Auckland
- Super Rugby: Waikato Chiefs, Auckland Blues
- National: New Zealand A
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Bill Tuckey »
Bill Tuckey
At the ripe old age of 104, it's fair to say that Bill Tuckey is comfortably our oldest founding member.
Bill was a member of the inaugural Massey College 1st XV and finished his career playing fullback for Hokianga in the heartland of Northland.
Although he hasn't laced up the boots for close to 60 years, Bill is still training everyday in preparation - keep an eye out for him at IRC Rugbyfests.
Bill is still plying his trade in the Hokianga and we're tickled pink to have him onboard.
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Harry Morgan »
Harry Morgan
At the tender age of just 2 weeks old, Harry Morgan officially became the youngest founding member of the International Rugby Club (and perhaps any club in the world)
His pedigree is decent, with late grandfather Joe Morgan playing 22 games and five tests for the All Blacks in the mid 1970's in between turning out 167 times for North Auckland (Northland) over 15 years - a record for the province that still stands.
Harry is looking forward to being an active IRC member and supporter. Meanwhile his father is working on convincing Harry's mother and 2 Grandmothers that it's a sensible idea for the young fella to lace up his size 1 boots at the earliest opportunity.
Honorary Members
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Paul Tito »
Paul Tito
Paul "Fish" Tito has been on the NZ Rugby scene for almost 20 years. He has represented New Zealand at Schools, Under 19, Under 21 level and NZ Maori level and made his provincial debut for Taranaki in 1998. Super Rugby followed the year after with the Chiefs but it is his 7 seasons with the Hurricanes he is most remembered for. Beyond NZ, the tall lock plyed his trade for 5 years in the Cardiff Blues. He's now back in the Naki coaching amber and gold.
Not only a tall man but a strong one too - he once shook a referee’s hand so hard it led to a formal complaint. Ouch.
- Clubs: New Plymouth Old Boys, Cardiff Blues (Wales)
- Provincial: Taranaki
- Super Rugby: Waikato Chiefs, Wellington Hurricanes
- National: New Zealand Maori
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Davin Heaps »
Davin Heaps
A Southland stalwart, Heaps played in over 100 matches for this province after making his debut in 1991. The hooker alternated between the Hurricanes and the Blues during his Super Rugby career. A Southland hero, Heaps was still playing club rugby for his Wyndham side in 2007 before turning to the coaching role. In his spare time, Heaps runs his Wyndham family farm.
- Clubs: Wyndham
- Provincial: Southland
- Super Rugby: Auckland Blues, Wellington Hurricanes
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Jim Coe »
Jim Coe
Provincial legends do not come any harder than steel worker Jim Coe. He was an iron man of the Counties-Manukau pack. He played 182 games for Counties-Manukau and over 230 first class games between 1986 and 1999. A New Zealand Colt in 1985, a New Zealand Barbarian in 1996 and an All Black reserve in 1992, Coe was a regular member of the New Zealand Maori from 1992 until his retirement. He retired from all rugby in 2000.
- Clubs: Waiuku
- Provincial: Counties Manukau
- Super Rugby: Auckland Blues
- National: New Zealand Maori
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Jason Spice »
Jason Spice
Originally from the Bay of Plenty Jason played halfback for the Waikato NPC team, played six games for the Blues in 1998 before transferring to Wellington, where he played 61 games for the province and 66 for the Hurricanes Super Rugby franchise. Spice was a New Zealand A tourist to Europe in 2000 and was called up as a substitute for the All Blacks against Argentina in 2001 and was again on standby for the 2002 end of season tour.
Early in his career he also played first-class cricket for Northern Districts as a left arm spinner and lower order batsman before his position was taken by eventual NZ captain Daniel Vettori.
After leaving the Hurricanes in 2004, he enjoyed three seasons and 77 games for Ospreys in Wales, 48 games for Cardiff and a staggering 31 games in one season with Bristol.- Clubs: Waikato, Wellington, Bristol, Launceston, RUFC, Mt Maunganui
- Provincial: Ospreys, Cardiff Blues, Waikato
- Super Rugby: Auckland Blues, Wellington Hurricanes
- National: New Zealand All Blacks
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Shane Carter »
Shane Carter
Rotorua born Shane Carter represented numerous representative sides, including New Zealand U17, NZ Under 19 and the NZ Colts.
He made his debut for Wellington in 1998 through until 2002 and finished with 45 caps for the province. In between he played for the local Hurricanes Super franchise from 2000 until 2002 before retiring.
In 2010 Carter was the assistant coach of the North Otago team that won the Lochore Cup Heartland Championship.
- Provincial: Wellington
- Super Rugby: Wellington Hurricanes
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Walter Little »
Walter Little
Little who hails from Tokoroa played 50 tests and 25 games for the All Blacks in a career that spanned most of the 1990’s after debuting in 1989 on the tour of Canada, Wales and Ireland when he was only 19.
In the latter stages of his career, Little formed a formidable midfield partnership with North Harbour team-mate Frank Bunce. The pair were involved in some memorable tests, and their clashes with the Australian pairing of Tim Horan and Jason Little were a feature of many Bledisloe Cup tests.
Little was the first All Black out of the Glenfield club on the North Shore, and has remained loyal to them ever since.
He has coached the premier side six of the past seven years and is in charge again this season. He would love to dedicate more time to coaching but says it's difficult to balance with his work commitments.
"Running your own business is so time-consuming. To go further in coaching, [it] has to be your No 1 priority. That is the hardest thing for me."- Clubs: Glenfield
- Provincial: North Harbour
- National: New Zealand All Blacks
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Deon Muir »
Deon Muir
Muir debuted for Waikato in 1995 and played 101 games for the Mooloos, the 20th player to reach that milestone. He captained the red, yellow and blacks, as well as the Chiefs and the Maori All Blacks.
He was at the helm during the magical 21-game Ranfurly Shield tenure from 1997 to 2000 – a time when passionate fans flocked to parades down the main street.
He chose to opt for a stint at Japanese club Sanix in 2002, which turned into a seven season stay.Since being back in NZ he has been involved in coaching with his old Te Awamutu Sports Club, Waikato and his Japanese club Sanix.
- Clubs: Te Awamutu Sports
- Provincial: Waikato
- Super Rugby: Waikato Chiefs, Canterbury Crusaders
- National: New Zealand Maori
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Brendan Laney »
Brendan Laney
Brendan "Chainsaw" Laney coined his nickname for the way he cut through defences. Hailing from the deep South, he began his professional rugby career at fullback for the Highlanders in the Super 12.
When Laney scored 4 tries for Otago '98 semi-final v 'Naki he became only player to score 3 hat-tricks in a Div 1 season. Laney has plyed his trade from the bottom of the South Island to the North of the UK. In 2001, he was controversially rushed straight into the Scottish national team. Whilst some Scottish players weren’t too pleased, he soon won everyone over with his personality and leadership. His most significant achievement whilst there was when he contributed 11 points in the 21-6 defeat of the Springboks at Murrayfield in 2002, Scotland’s first win over one of the Tri-Nations teams in nearly 20 years.
He played for Yamaha Jubilo in Japan at the end of his career and now commentates on Sky Sport.
- Clubs: Temuka
- Provincial: Otago
- Super Rugby: Otago Highlanders
- National: Scotland
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Mike Collins »
Mike Collins
Former Waikato and Chiefs prop, Collins is now the CEO of Taranaki Rugby Union.
Collins is a former captain of the New Plymouth Boys' High School first XV, was the former development manager at Taranaki Rugby, and the ITM Cup side's scrum coach for several seasons.
- Provincial: Waikato
- Super Rugby: Waikato Chiefs
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Danny Lee »
Danny Lee
Lee has got around - he played scrum-half for the Hurricanes, Chiefs, Blues, Highlanders and Hawke's Bay before heading to Wales to play for the Newport Gwent Dragons in 2009.
Lee had a short stint with the All Blacks in 2002, playing two test matches.
Lee is now Assistant Coach of the Hawke’s Bay Magpies.
- Clubs: Newport Gwent Dragons (Wales)
- Provincial: Hawke's Bay, Central Vikings, Counties Manukau, Otago
- Super Rugby: Wellington Hurricanes, Waikato Chiefs, Auckland Blues, Otago Highlanders
- National: New Zealand All Blacks
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Kelvin Middleton »
Kelvin Middleton
Middleton now lives in Queenstown was a stalwart of Otago and Highlanders rugby for many years before heading off for a stint in Japan. He is now involved in coaching the Wakitipu Wanderers.
- Clubs: Kaikorai, Wakatipu
- Provincial: Otago
- Super Rugby: Otago Highlanders
- National: New Zealand A