John Joseph Stewart (18 July 1923 – 15 November 2002), generally known as JJ Stewart, was a 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 ...

coach and administrator, and secondary school teacher. His obituary said that in 1973 when he took over as

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 ...

coach, he was the ''right man at the right time'' for a team that was scarred and in crisis from a home loss to the British Lions in 1971, a controversial British tour in 1972–73 and a cancelled Springbok tour in 1973. Stewart was New Zealand selector and All Black coach from 1973 to 1976. For the tour of Australia in 1974 he ditched many stalwarts, picking

Andy Leslie Andrew Roy Leslie (born 10 November 1944) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A number eight, he represented Wellington domestically and captained the All Black at international level. He was captain during the controversial 1976 New Z ...

as captain and 15 new caps including Bryan Williams and Bruce Robertson. Later Williams said he was a ''breath of fresh air'',

Tane Norton Rangitane Will Norton (born 30 March 1942), commonly known as Tane Norton, is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He played at the hooker position. He played for Linwood before he first represented in 1969. In 1977, he captained the All B ...

said ''he brought a new era to our game'', and Laurie Mains said ''he could always think outside the square''. He prepared All Black teams for 11 tests from 1973 to 1976; and left with six wins, one draw and four losses (three in South Africa in 1976, against a rampant Springbok side)He had been a provincial coach in Taranaki (1963–69) (the province held the Ranfurly Shield for three years) and Wanganui (1970–71), and a secondary school coach in Taranaki. He was North Island selector in 1972 and 1977, and on the

New Zealand Rugby Football Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

council from 1985 to 1990. He was born in Northcote, Auckland and died (of cancer) in New Plymouth. He was educated at Monte Cecelia and

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

Colleges in Auckland, Auckland University College, Auckland Teachers' Training College and

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

(BA). He earned a degree at 71, and was a Massey University councillor for 12 years. He was a teacher at

New Plymouth Boys' High School New Plymouth Boys' High School is a single-sex boys' state secondary school in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The school currently caters for approximately 1300 students, including 210 boarders, on its site. The school often collaborate ...

from 1948 to 1969, then principal of Flock House near Bulls from 1969 to 1983. He stood as a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate in the 1978 Rangitikei by-election, in a traditional National seat that was won by Bruce Beetham for Social Credit. Beetham, ironically, had been one of Stewart's students and later a fellow teacher at New Plymouth. He also stood in the , for . A year later he stood for the Labour candidacy for the seat in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, but was unsuccessful. He married Claire Campbell in 1961; she was later a

mayor of New Plymouth The Mayor of New Plymouth is the head of municipal government of New Plymouth District, New Zealand. Since the 2022 local elections, the mayor is elected directly using the single transferable vote electoral system; prior to that, first-past-the-p ...

. They left a daughter and four sons. Stewart 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 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours.

References

*Obituary in ''Evening Post'' (Wellington) of 21 November 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, JJ 1923 births 2002 deaths New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand national rugby union team coaches New Zealand Rugby Football Union officials New Zealand educators New Zealand schoolteachers New Zealand Labour Party politicians Deaths from cancer in New Zealand Massey University alumni People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century New Zealand politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1978 New Zealand general election