Earle Weston Kirton (born 29 December 1940) was an

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 ...

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 from New Zealand. He was a first five-eighth. He played 48 matches for the All Blacks, scoring 42 points. He was in 13 tests where he scored 12 test points (4 tries). He toured the British Isles and France 1963-64 and 1967, and played against Australia and France in 1968, Wales in 1969 and South Africa in 1970. He was born in

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

and educated at St Joseph's Convent School,

Upper Hutt Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. Geography The Upper Hutt city cent ...

and St Patrick's College, Silverstream. He studied at 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 ...

and played for Otago. In 1971 he took a postgraduate dentistry course in England and played for the Harlequins, Middlesex and the Barbarians (and was also a selector-coach). On returning to New Zealand he coaching Wellington (1986–87) and then was a national selector and also assistant coach to

Laurie Mains Laurence William Mains (born 16 February 1946) is a former rugby union footballer and coach who represented New Zealand. Mains' representative career started when he first played for Otago in 1967. He made his All Blacks début in 1971, agains ...

References

Bibliography

*Palenski, R., Chester, R., and McMillan, N., (2005). ''The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand Rugby (4th ed.).'' Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett. 1940 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Otago rugby union players People educated at St. Patrick's College, Silverstream People from Upper Hutt Rugby union players from Manawatū-Whanganui {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1940s-stub