Thomas Joseph Kiernan (7 January 1939 – 3 February 2022) was an
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
international
rugby union player. He won 54 caps for Ireland as a
full-back between 1960 and 1973 and captained his country 24 times. At the time of his retirement he was Ireland's most-capped player, most experienced captain, and record scorer in internationals with 158 points. He captained the
1968 British Lions tour to South Africa, playing in all four internationals against
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 coun ...
. His nephew,
Mike Kiernan, also played for Ireland and the Lions. Kiernan was also the
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...
team coach for their famous
victory over the All Blacks in 1978. He received the
IRB Distinguished Service Award in 2001. He died on 3 February 2022, at the age of 83.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiernan, Tom
1939 births
2022 deaths
World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees
Irish rugby union players
Ireland international rugby union players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland
Rugby union fullbacks
Munster Rugby non-playing staff
Irish Exiles non-playing staff
Cork Constitution players
University College Cork RFC players
People educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork
Rugby union players from County Cork
Munster Rugby players