Jack Kyle

Irish and Liobs rugby player (1926–2014)

John Wilson Kyle (10 February 1926 – 27 November 2014), most commonly known as Jack Kyle, was a rugby union player who represented Ireland, the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians during the 1940s and 1950s. Kyle was a member of the Irish team that won the grand slam in the 1948 Five Nations Championship. In 1950, Kyle was declared one of the six players of the year by the New Zealand Rugby Almanac. Kyle is a member of the International Rugby Hall of Fame and was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame before the two halls merged to form the current World Rugby Hall of Fame. He was named the Greatest Ever Irish Rugby Player by the Irish Rugby Football Union in 2002. Kyle was educated at Belfast Royal Academy and studied medicine at Queen's University Belfast. He graduated in 1951 and, in 1991, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university. In 2007, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Irish Journal of Medical Science and the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland. He received an OBE in 1959.

In 1950, Kyle also played for the British Lions on their tour to New Zealand and Australia. He played in 20 of the 29 games, including all six Tests. Among his tour highlights was a display that came in the first Test, a 9–9 draw with New Zealand. Of the Lions' nine points, Kyle scored a try, created another for Ken Jones and won a penalty that was converted by John Robins. During the tour, he also scored a try in the 24–3 defeat of Australia.

After retiring from club rugby in 1963, Kyle embarked on humanitarian work in Sumatra and Indonesia. Between 1966 and 2000, he worked as a consultant surgeon in Chingola, Zambia. He then returned to Northern Ireland and settled in County Down. He remained involved in rugby and in 2001, established the Jack Kyle Bursary Fund in support of the Queen's University RFC Rugby Academy. Kyle died on 28 November 2014 after a prolonged illness and is survived by his son Caleb, daughter Justine and nephew David.