All Blacks great Ian Kirkpatrick honoured with Auckland luncheon tribute

Ian Kirkpatrick (left) and fellow All Blacks stars of the 1970s, Sir Bryan Williams and Grant Batty are pictured with Kirkpatrick's niece, East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick, at a fundraising luncheon held in Auckland in honour of the Poverty Bay flanker. Photo / Dana Kirkpatrick

Poverty Bay All Blacks great Ian Kirkpatrick has been honoured at a fundraising event in Auckland.

Kirkpatrick was accompanied by two of his storied All Blacks teammates from the 1970s – outstanding wingers of that era, Bryan (Beegee) Williams and Grant Batty – at the fundraiser for the Papakura (Auckland) and Ngatapa (based in Tairāwhiti) rugby clubs.

Other guests were 1992-1987 All Black Frank Bunce and Māori All Blacks, Chiefs and Taranaki coach Colin Cooper.

Black Ferns Sevens captain Sarah Hirini was originally expected to attend but could not make it.

Foreign Affairs Minister and former Auckland Māori captain Winston Peters was the opening speaker.

About 180 people attended the event at Papakura Rugby Football Club, including about 20 people from Gisborne, Ngatapa co-organiser Kay Twigley said.

The idea for the event came from a member of the Pakūranga club, who had previously arranged a similar event in honour of Colin Meads and wanted to do likewise for Kirkpatrick.

The event was called “Luncheon Tribute to Kirky – Celebrating the Life and Times of an iconic All Black”.

Twigley said the various speakers spoke highly of Kirkpatrick’s generosity and the time he spent supporting teams at various levels of the game in New Zealand.

Kirkpatrick’s niece, East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick, attended the event and said she enjoyed the “many great yarns as speakers paid tribute to Ian’s rugby career”.

“It was such a privilege to be at this event with legends of the game.

“The partnership between Papakura and Ngatapa rugby clubs is an example of how we can all work together to make sure grassroots is at the centre of sport,” she said.

“Without hundreds of young players running around in the regions we can’t fill a pipeline of talent for the future.”