Kenneth Lorrie Stirling is a New Zealand former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer, coach and administrator who represented

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 ...

in the 1975 World Championship.

Playing career

Stirling played for the Ellerslie club in the Auckland Rugby League and in 1971 won the

Rothville Trophy The Auckland Rugby League competition has been competed for since 1909 when the first organised match was played between North Shore and City Rovers (won 44–22 by North Shore). The following year an official champion was crowned for the first tim ...

as player of the year and the Bert Humphries Memorial as most improved back. He made his debut for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team ( Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

that same year and went on to play in 22 Test matches, scoring four tries. Stirling would have played in more Test matches if it was not for injury, he missed the

1972 World Cup The sixth Rugby League World Cup was held in France in October and November 1972. Australia started as the favourites to retain the trophy they had won just two years previously. New Zealand had beaten all three of the other nations in 1971 a ...

and retired from international football in 1976 before returning in 1978. In total he played in 43 matches for the Kiwis.Three Kiwi greats inducted into New Zealand Legends of League
''rleague.com'', 17 April 2007 Stirling was an

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

representative and won the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

Player of the Year award in 1974.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. .Sky Rugby League Annual '98 ''New Zealand Rugby League'', 1998 Stirling was appointed the Kiwis captain in 1974 and continued in the role during the 1975 World Championship and in 1978.

Later years

After retirement Stirling coached Ellerslie. In 1982 Stirling helped found the

Hibiscus Coast Raiders The Hibiscus Coast Raiders are a rugby league club based on the Hibiscus Coast, New Zealand. They compete in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition and between 2000 and 2005 were also involved in the Bartercard Cup competition. History ...

club and served on their foundation committee. In 1988 Stirling was elected onto the

board, serving a four-year term. He later served another four-year term and was also the convenor of selectors for the national side. Stirling was inducted into the

's Legends of League in 2007.

Family

Stirling's father, Ivor, also represented New Zealand in rugby league. His sister, Glenda, represented New Zealand in swimming at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

and he is related to New Zealand former cricket captain Daniel Vettori.'I had two cups of tea in my hands and they were shaking'
''espncricinfo.com'', 26 March 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Ken Living people New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Auckland rugby league team players Ellerslie Eagles players Rugby league halfbacks New Zealand national rugby league team captains Ellerslie Eagles coaches New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league administrators Hibiscus Coast Raiders New Zealand Rugby League board members Year of birth missing (living people)