David Edward Kirk (born 5 October 1960) is a former New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He is best known for having been the captain of the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

when they won the inaugural

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Early years

Kirk was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and grew up in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. He was educated at Russell Street School,

Wanganui Collegiate School Whanganui Collegiate School (formerly Wanganui Collegiate School; see here) is a state-integrated, coeducational, day and boarding, secondary school in Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui region, New Zealand. The school is affiliated to the Anglican c ...

, and the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

, where he graduated with a medical degree

MB ChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

Rugby union career

Kirk played domestic rugby for

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, and first toured with the All Blacks in 1983. He stood out from his fellow players as "urbane, articulate and thoughtful," and when the planned 1986 All Black tour to South Africa was cancelled David and John Kirwan were the only two players to refuse to join the rebel "Cavaliers" team on moral grounds—he felt that it would give comfort to the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

regime. With the rebels banned from playing in the next two All Black test he captained the so-called " Baby Blacks". On the return of the rebels however, his position was uncomfortable and he was lucky to retain his place in the squad. Despite this, when original captain

Andy Dalton Andrew Gregory Dalton (born October 29, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Red Rifle", Dalton previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, and ...

had to withdraw with an injury, Kirk was made captain—and led New Zealand to victory over France in the 1987 Rugby World Cup Final. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1988 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1988 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, for services to rugby.

All Blacks statistics

* Tests: 17 (11 as captain) * Games: 17 (0 as captain) * Total matches: 34 (11 as captain) * Test points: 24pts (6t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m) * Game points: 44pts (11t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m) * Total points: 68pts (17t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m)

Post-rugby life

Kirk abruptly retired from competitive rugby after the World Cup win, at the age of 26, to take up a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

Worcester College Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

with a degree in PPE. After his studies at Oxford, he returned to New Zealand, becoming the coach of the

NPC team in 1993 and 1994 and also a media commentator. A National Party member, he sought the party's nomination for the

1992 Tamaki by-election The Tamaki by-election 1992 was a by-election held in the electorate during the 43rd New Zealand Parliament, on 15 February 1992. It was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Sir Robert Muldoon and was won by Clem Simich with a majority of ...

, losing to

Clem Simich Clement Rudolph "Clem" Simich or Šimić (born 2 June 1939) is a New Zealand politician for the National Party. Early life Simich was born in Te Kōpuru, Northland in 1939. Member of Parliament He was first elected to Parliament in ...

. Kirk was also a staffer for

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...

, and worked as a management consultant at

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

. Later he was employed by Fletcher Challenge, then New Zealand's largest company, and one of its successors, Fletcher Energy. From October 2005 to December 2008 he was chief executive officer of

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald' ...

—publisher of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' and ''

The Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

'' in Australia; and '' The Dominion Post'' and ''

The Christchurch Press ''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...

'' in New Zealand. On occasions he wrote articles for Fairfax - commentating on rugby when journalists were on strike. His most recent involvement with rugby came in late 2009, when he led an independent arbitration panel appointed by

SANZAR SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from ...

to settle an impasse between its three member unions (

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

) over whether the planned 15th franchise in the

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

competition would be awarded to

, Ultimately, Melbourne was chosen and began play in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. On 24 October 2011, Kirk was inducted into the

IRB Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

alongside all other Rugby World Cup-winning captains and head coaches from the tournament's inception in 1987 through to 2007 (minus the previously inducted

John Eales John Eales AM (born 27 June 1970) is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby. In 1999, he became one of the first players to win multiple Rugby World Cups. Early life Eales ...

Current business roles

* Co-founder and current Managing Partner of Bailador Investment Management * Chairman of the Board at The Hoyts Group, a position he has held since July 2009 * Chairman of the Board at

Trade Me Trade Me is New Zealand's largest online auction and classifieds website. Managed by Trade Me Ltd., the site was founded in 1999 by New Zealand entrepreneur Sam Morgan (entrepreneur), Sam Morgan, who sold it to John Fairfax Holdings, Fairfax in ...

Group. * Chairman of Standard Media Index Ltd (investee of Bailador). He is also a director of a number of companies, including: * Forsyth Barr Ltd * Pacific Fibre Ltd * Viocorp International Ltd (investee of Bailador) Kirk is a member of the

Lord Howe Island Board The Lord Howe Island Board is a NSW Statutory Authority established under the ''Lord Howe Island Act, 1953'', to administer Lord Howe Island, an unincorporated island territory within the jurisdiction of the State of New South Wales, Australia, ...

, having been appointed by the NSW Minister for the Environment as the representative of business and tourism on the board, a specified position on the board. He was appointed on 27 November 2018 and will remain on the board until 26 November 2021.

Notes and references

External links

David Kirk
profile at New Zealand Rugby Museum

— ''Sydney Morning Herald'' biography published 27 August 2005 *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, David 1960 births New Zealand international rugby union players Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Living people World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees New Zealand rugby union players Oxford University RFC players New Zealand Rhodes Scholars Rugby union scrum-halves University of Otago alumni People educated at Whanganui Collegiate School New Zealand republicans New Zealand National Party politicians New Zealand sportsperson-politicians New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Rugby union players from Wellington City