Kenneth Lorrie Stirling is a New Zealand former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer, coach and administrator who represented

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in the 1975 World Championship.

Playing career

Stirling played for the Ellerslie club in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

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 t ...

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 () 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 Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

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 an injury, he missed the 1972 World Cup 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 ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

representative and won the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league, rugby league football in New Zealand.#SPARC-2009, SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a 1910 Great Britain Lions tour o ...

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 as 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. Histor ...

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 a rugby league. His sister, Glenda, represented New Zealand in swimming at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

and he is related to New Zealand former cricket captain,

Daniel Vettori Daniel Luca Vettori (born 27 January 1979) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer who played for the New Zealand national cricket team. He was the 200th player to win their Test cricket cap for New Zealand and an inductee in the Ne ...

.'I had two cups of tea in my hands and they were shaking'
''espncricinfo.com'', 26 March 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Ken 1949 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team players Ellerslie Eagles coaches Ellerslie Eagles players Hibiscus Coast Raiders New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand Rugby League board members New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from the Auckland Region