Pioneers of Rugby in Wellington 127: Jim Kinvig (Onslow)

James ‘Big Jim’ Kinvig was a leading player for Onslow throughout the 1950s and early 1960s and he played a number of times for the Wellington representative team.

Kinvig was well known as a big goal-kicking forward, whose most usual position was lock but he also played at prop and No. 8 throughout his career.

During this club career, Onslow won two Jubilee Cup, in 1955 and in 1962 (shared with Marist).

Curiously he didn’t play in the 1955 team, although he had established himself in the side since 1952. Bruce Heather in his book Onslow’s Golden Winter 1955 speculated that he failed to make the team at the start of the season owing to pre-season fitness issues, then the team got on a roll and he couldn’t break into the side.

Nevertheless, Kinvig got his Jubilee Cup triumph seven years later as a key member of that side that won its second and last title.

Onslow had to beat Marist in the last match of the 1962 to draw level with them. The Dominion reported that:

“Jubilant Onslow players chair their big prop and goal-kicker Jim Kinvig off Athletic Park to triumphant strains of the Onslow brass band. Kinvig kicked the important points as Onslow buried Marist 14-0 in today’s final match of the season, giving them a share of the Jubilee Cup with Marist.”

The team report in Onslow’s 1962 Annual Report added:

“Our team spirit throughout the season was the main contributing factor to our victories. Our strength lay in our forwards. They controlled the game, and after first dominating the opposition up front, allowed the backs to run, the backs accounting for 29 of the 39 tries scored. Our defence was also a contributing factor as only 9 tries were scored against us.”

Bruce Heather wrote the following obituary for the Wellington College magazine after he passed away in 2012 (abridged):

Kinvig attended Wellington College from 1944-45.

 In the 1952 season ‘Big Jim’ as he was known, was named in the NZ Rugby Almanack as one of the Five Promising Players of the Year. He had represented Wellington as a lock forward during the season and over the next decade was in and out of Wellington Representative teams.

 Invariably, he had to compete for Wellington Rep. honours with some outstanding players of the day such as All Blacks Nev MacEwan, Ron Horsley, Dave Harker and even his own Onslow club mates, Cardy Williams and Trevor Reynolds.

Jim’s best rugby came as he was approaching 30 years of age when he cemented a place in the Wellington front row and finally was presented with his Wellington Blazer.

He was best known for his long distance goal kicking which rivalled the famous All Black Don Clarke for distance. In those days he usually had to contend with a leather ball and heavy ground conditions. It was a common sight to see Jim at Athletic Park kicking goals from well inside his own half often to the amazement and dismay of the opposition supporters.

When Jim hung up his boots at the age of 35, he turned to bowls where he became a successful bowler with the Titahi Bay Club where he won several Club titles and one Wellington Centre title.

Jim was also successful in business in the grocery trade and in later years he owned two Supermarkets in Wellington’s Northern suburbs.

Kinvig played 22 games for the Wellington A side. He played seven games in his debut season 1952, then another 15 between 1958-62.

Prior to this, he is listed as having played a first-class match for the RNZAF team in 1949 out of the Hobsonville club, so was in the Air Force for a time from his late teens.

He was mentioned a number of times in Rugby Weekly publication despatches and he always featured on the leading points scorers lists.

One such entry after Wellington has beaten Manawatu 21-16 in 1958 read: “Jim Kinvig was entrusted with the longer kicks. He converted one try beautifully from wide out. A penalty shot at goal from near halfway was a great effort. He had to allow for the wind. The ball curved in nicely but fell under the posts. Big Jim got quite a hand from the crowd for that effort.”

Another entry from the same year, whilst playing for Onslow, highlighted his forward play: “But the most aggressive lineout work of the day came from the big Onslow lock J. Kinvig. He made two breaks from successive lineouts which took him through the Petone line as if it did not exist.”

One more in 1961 in a 19-9 loss to competition favourites Marist read: “ Onslow has two most competent locks in J.L. Kinvig and P.D. Elliston. Kinvig’s try in the last moments of the game was a gem. He made a clean take on the Marist line, swivelled and smashed across.”

Kinvig was listed as being 15.13 stone and 6 foot 3, which is 101kg and 190cm. So not ‘big’ by today’s standards but physical enough for that era. In comparison, one of his Wellington teammates and propping partner in some games was All Black great Ken Gray, who was a lock turned prop and his playing weight was listed as 99kg and he also stood 190cm tall.

Following Onslow’s 1962 win, Kinvig returned in 1963 as Onslow finished runners-up to Marist in the Jubilee Cup.

In 1964 Onslow’s top team fell away considerably and struggled to compete in the Hardham Cup. But veteran players Kinvig, Eddie Tonks and George Blair dropped down to play a full season for Onslow’s second side that was competing in the Junior First Division grade – the WRFU’s third tier competition at the time. The goal was to help this side earn promotion back up to Senior 2, and by winning all 17 games they earned a promotion-relegation game against Karori. They won this 19-6 and earned promotion. Kinvig then hung up his boots.

Kinvig passed away on 16 July 2012 in his 83^rd year.

REFERENCES

• Akers, Clive. New Zealand Rugby Register 1870-2015. New Zealand Rugby Museum, 2016.
• The Dominion various editions August 1962.
• Heather, Bruce. Onslow’s Golden Winter. Published 2010.
• Onslow Rugby Football Club (inc) Annual Report and Balance Sheet publications 1962-64.
• Rugby Weekly various editions 1954-63
• Wellingtonian [Wellington College magazine] December 2012. Jim Kinvig obituary by Bruce Heather
• Wellington’s Rugby History 1951-79. By Bob Fox, with assistance by Paul Elenio and Joseph Romanos (Evening Post) and Alex Veysey and Ian Gault (Dominion), with statistics compiled by Gordon Jackson (1951-68) and Alby Butterworth (1969-78). Tolan Printing Company, Wellington, 1979.