Josh Kronfeld was one of three virtual newcomers to the All Blacks who despite their youth and inexperience played dominant roles in the 1995 World Cup in South Africa.

The others were wing Jonah Lomu, then just 20, and first five eighths Andrew Mehrtens, who had just turned 22. Kronfeld, 23, had made his All Black debut with Mehrtens in the warmup test against Canada just a few weeks before the World Cup while Lomu 12 months previously had made two undistinguished appearances in the tests against France.

In the absence of Michael Jones, who was not chosen in 1995 because of his unavailability for Sunday matches, Kronfeld excelled as a tearaway openside flanker bringing a dimension to the position the All Blacks had not had since Jones heyday in 1987-89.

Originally from Hawkes Bay, Kronfeld moved to Dunedin in 1990 to study physical education. He linked up with the Otago University club and soon showed promise at colts levels, though not enough to win selection for the national under 21 team even though he attended a couple of training schools.

Kronfeld, after one match in 1992, became a regular in the Otago side in 1993 and one of his early matches was in the decisive win over the British Lions. He had an even better year in 1994 and was in the side which completed a notable double with a win over the Springboks.

His splendid performances and consistency in 1993-94 made his inclusion in the 1995 World Cup squad inevitable and he quickly showed he was well and truly in international class.

His speed, workrate and enthusiastic backing up brought him tries in the pool matches against Ireland and Wales and a significant, spectacular early try in the All Blacks opening semifinal blitz against England.

Kronfeld surprisingly was relegated to the reserves for the second Bledisloe Cup test against the Wallabies later in the 1995 season, though in the match in Sydney he did take the field at halftime.

Cynics suggested Kronfelds demotion may have been linked to his later breaking ranks with the rest of the All Black squad over the World Rugby Corporation attempted breakaway. Much to the annoyance of some senior All Blacks, he and Jeff Wilson signed contracts with the New Zealand union, an important blow in ensuring the established bodies would remain in control of the game.

Kronfeld made the end of season 1995 tour of France and Italy but because of an ankle injury received in the NPC, which he aggravated as he was warming up for a midweek match, meant he did not take the field.

However, Kronfeld had been the centre of much of the publicity focus during this tour because of his opposition to French nuclear tests, which had resulted in him wearing an anti nuclear logo on his headgear.

When John Hart succeeded Laurie Mains as All Black coach in 1996 Kronfeld remained the All Blacks leading openside flanker with Jones finding an effective role on the blindside. Over the next two seasons Kronfeld was especially invaluable with his speed to the breakdowns, mastering much to the dismay of opposing coaches the law requirement to remain or regain his feet.

Other than briefly losing his starting place in 1997 to Andrew Blowers and occasional absence through injuries, to which his explosive sytle made him prone, Kronfeld was a first choice All Black through till 2000.

However, his 2000 biography "On the Loose" made it plain he was not a warm admirer of Harts coaching methods with the All Blacks, especially in 1998-99. But Kronfeld himself was far from outstanding in the disappointing semifinal loss to France at Twickenham. Kronfeld was anonymous in that match and was outplayed by Oliver Magne.

Yet for most of his All Black career Kronfeld was one of the most diverting characters and personalities in New Zealand rugby with his off-field passions for pop music and surfing.

At the end of the 2000 season, after 69 matches for Otago, 42 for the Highlanders in the Super 12 and 56 All Black matches including 54 tests, Kronfeld left New Zealand rugby to take up a lucrative contract with the English club, Leicester.

Profile by Lindsay Knight
for the New Zealand Rugby Museum.

FULL NAME

Joshua Adrian Kronfeld

BORN

Sunday, 20 June 1971 in Hastings

AGE

39

PHYSICAL

1.85m, 94kg

POSITION

Flanker

LAST SCHOOL

Hastings Boys' High

RUGBY CLUB
(First made All Blacks from)

Alhambra-Union

PROVINCE

Otago

ALL BLACK DEBUT

Saturday, 22 April 1995
v Canada at Auckland
aged 23 years, 306 days

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT

Saturday, 22 April 1995
v Canada at Auckland
aged 23 years, 306 days

LAST TEST

Saturday, 19 August 2000
v South Africa at Johannesburg
aged 29 years, 60 days

ALL BLACK TESTS

54 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK GAMES

2 (0 as Captain)

TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES

56 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK TEST POINTS

70pts (14t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m)

ALL BLACK GAME POINTS

10pts (2t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m)

TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS

80pts (16t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m)

ALL BLACK NUMBER

943

The All Black Games that Kronfeld played.
(+) = substitute; (-) = replaced

Click on the date to be taken to the Match Card

1995

 22 Apr vs Canada at Auckland 73-7  

 27 May vs Ireland at Johannesburg 43-19  

 31 May vs Wales at Johannesburg 34-9  

 11 Jun vs Scotland at Pretoria 48-30  

 18 Jun vs England at Cape Town 45-29  

 24 Jun vs South Africa at Johannesburg 12-15  

 22 Jul vs Australia at Auckland 28-16  

 29 Jul vs Australia at Sydney 34-23 (+) 

1996

 7 Jun vs Samoa at Napier 51-10  

 15 Jun vs Scotland at Dunedin 62-31  

 22 Jun vs Scotland at Auckland 36-12  

 6 Jul vs Australia at Wellington 43-6  

 20 Jul vs South Africa at Christchurch 15-11  

 27 Jul vs Australia at Brisbane 32-25  

 10 Aug vs South Africa at Cape Town 29-18 (-) 

 17 Aug vs South Africa at Durban 23-19  

 24 Aug vs South Africa at Pretoria 33-26 (-) 

 31 Aug vs South Africa at Johannesburg 22-32  

1997

 14 Jun vs Fiji at Albany 71-5 (-) 

 21 Jun vs Argentina at Wellington 93-8  

 28 Jun vs Argentina at Hamilton 62-10  

 5 Jul vs Australia at Christchurch 30-13 (-) 

 19 Jul vs South Africa at Johannesburg 35-32  

 26 Jul vs Australia at Melbourne 33-18  

 9 Aug vs South Africa at Auckland 55-35  

 16 Aug vs Australia at Dunedin 36-24  

 8 Nov vs Llanelli at Llanelli 81-3 (-) 

 15 Nov vs Ireland at Dublin 63-15 (+) 

 18 Nov vs Emerging England at Huddersfield 59-22  

 22 Nov vs England at Manchester 25-8  

 29 Nov vs Wales at London 42-7  

 6 Dec vs England at London 26-26  

1998

 20 Jun vs England at Dunedin 64-22  

 27 Jun vs England at Auckland 40-10  

 11 Jul vs Australia at Melbourne 16-24  

 25 Jul vs South Africa at Wellington 3-13  

 15 Aug vs South Africa at Durban 23-24  

 29 Aug vs Australia at Sydney 14-19 (-) 

1999

 18 Jun vs Samoa at Albany 71-13  

 26 Jun vs France at Wellington 54-7 (-) 

 10 Jul vs South Africa at Dunedin 28-0  

 24 Jul vs Australia at Auckland 34-15  

 7 Aug vs South Africa at Pretoria 34-18  

 28 Aug vs Australia at Sydney 7-28  

 3 Oct vs Tonga at Bristol 45-9  

 9 Oct vs England at London 30-16  

 24 Oct vs Scotland at Edinburgh 30-18  

 31 Oct vs France at London 31-43  

 4 Nov vs South Africa at Cardiff 18-22  

2000

 16 Jun vs Tonga at Albany 102-0 (-) 

 24 Jun vs Scotland at Dunedin 69-20 (+) 

 1 Jul vs Scotland at Auckland 48-14 (-) 

 15 Jul vs Australia at Sydney 39-35 (+) 

 22 Jul vs South Africa at Christchurch 25-12 (-) 

 5 Aug vs Australia at Wellington 23-24 (-) 

 19 Aug vs South Africa at Johannesburg 40-46 (-) 

Points scored for the All Blacks

t

c

p

dg

pts

vs Ireland, 27 May 1995

1

-

-

-

5

vs Wales, 31 May 1995

1

-

-

-

5

vs England, 18 Jun 1995

1

-

-

-

5

vs Scotland, 22 Jun 1996

2

-

-

-

10

vs Argentina, 21 Jun 1997

1

-

-

-

5

vs Argentina, 28 Jun 1997

1

-

-

-

5

vs Australia, 5 Jul 1997

2

-

-

-

10

vs Llanelli, 8 Nov 1997

1

-

-

-

5

vs Emerging England, 18 Nov 1997

1

-

-

-

5

vs England, 20 Jun 1998

1

-

-

-

5

vs Australia, 11 Jul 1998

1

-

-

-

5

vs Tonga, 3 Oct 1999

1

-

-

-

5

vs Tonga, 16 Jun 2000

1

-

-

-

5

vs Scotland, 1 Jul 2000

1

-

-

-

5

Totals

16

0

0

0

80

Test Record by Nation

P

W

D

L

t

c

p

dg

pts

Argentina

2

2

-

-

2

-

-

-

10

Australia

13

9

-

4

3

-

-

-

15

Canada

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

England

6

5

1

-

2

-

-

-

10

Fiji

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

France

2

1

-

1

-

-

-

-

-

Ireland

2

2

-

-

1

-

-

-

5

Samoa

2

2

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Scotland

6

6

-

-

3

-

-

-

15

South Africa

15

9

-

6

-

-

-

-

-

Tonga

2

2

-

-

2

-

-

-

10

Wales

2

2

-

-

1

-

-

-

5

Totals

54

42

1

11

14

0

0

0

70