John “Kiwi” Reilly, a co‐founder of the Brandon Barbarians Rugby Football Club in 1981, served on the Executive for 28 years in numerous capacities, including President, and was a force in the development of rugby in Western Manitoba. Following his untimely death in 2009, the North Pitch of Brandon’s Canada Games Rugby Park was renamed Reilly Field in recognition of his many contributions to the game.
John was born in 1948 in Napier New Zealand and played rugby for the Napier Marist RFC. In 1972, Iris first met John in Napier and in 1975 they moved to Canada and got married in Elm Creek, Manitoba (Iris’s home town).
In 1981 John, Doug Filipchuk, and Guy McKim formed the Brandon Barbarians Rugby Football Club, at the time the only rugby club outside of Winnipeg. For the first two seasons (exhibition only), all games were played at Green Acres School. When the Barbarians were asked to find another field, the three co‐founders approached the City of Brandon and were allowed to play on the (in)famous field by the Assiniboine River with the huge tree in the end goal directly behind the uprights. This turned out to be very good exposure for the Barbarians since the field was alongside one of the main roads into Brandon, and traffic jams resulted from cars pulling over to watch matches!
John played the wing as well as hooker, and as one former player said….”Kiwi was a man with an uncanny ability to burrow into a maul from an offside position and pop out, onside, with the ball.” John served as the President of the Barbarians as well as a coach after John Keogh passed away in 1989. John was not only a Level 2 Rugby Coach, but also a certified Referee and was a member of the Manitoba Association of Rugby Referees and was on the roster for games for numerous years. As time moved on John remained the only founding member in Brandon and became the back bone of the organization right through to his last days! John always said that it was the development of rugby that would keep him in Canada. The high school (with 11 schools) and youth (Boissevain, Brandon, Minnedosa and Souris) programs all evolved and grew due to the strong alumni from the Barbarians. Players were developed for both Manitoba and Canada.
John helped to secure and co‐chair the 1996 National U18 Championships and co‐chaired (with Dennis Hunt) a committee to develop world class rugby fields for the 1997 Canada Summer Games, recognized by Rugby Canada as a “superbly organized event”, this led to John receiving the Manitoba Rugby Union’s Volunteer of the Year Award. This was the first time a club had hosted back‐to‐back national championships. The two fields which were developed (and which John helped maintained) are a legacy to the game of rugby in Brandon and Manitoba. Following John’s death in 2009 the North pitch was renamed “Reilly Field”.
John was born in 1948 in Napier New Zealand and played rugby for the Napier Marist RFC. In 1972, Iris first met John in Napier and in 1975 they moved to Canada and got married in Elm Creek, Manitoba (Iris’s home town).
In 1981 John, Doug Filipchuk, and Guy McKim formed the Brandon Barbarians Rugby Football Club, at the time the only rugby club outside of Winnipeg. For the first two seasons (exhibition only), all games were played at Green Acres School. When the Barbarians were asked to find another field, the three co‐founders approached the City of Brandon and were allowed to play on the (in)famous field by the Assiniboine River with the huge tree in the end goal directly behind the uprights. This turned out to be very good exposure for the Barbarians since the field was alongside one of the main roads into Brandon, and traffic jams resulted from cars pulling over to watch matches!
John played the wing as well as hooker, and as one former player said….”Kiwi was a man with an uncanny ability to burrow into a maul from an offside position and pop out, onside, with the ball.” John served as the President of the Barbarians as well as a coach after John Keogh passed away in 1989. John was not only a Level 2 Rugby Coach, but also a certified Referee and was a member of the Manitoba Association of Rugby Referees and was on the roster for games for numerous years. As time moved on John remained the only founding member in Brandon and became the back bone of the organization right through to his last days! John always said that it was the development of rugby that would keep him in Canada. The high school (with 11 schools) and youth (Boissevain, Brandon, Minnedosa and Souris) programs all evolved and grew due to the strong alumni from the Barbarians. Players were developed for both Manitoba and Canada.
John helped to secure and co‐chair the 1996 National U18 Championships and co‐chaired (with Dennis Hunt) a committee to develop world class rugby fields for the 1997 Canada Summer Games, recognized by Rugby Canada as a “superbly organized event”, this led to John receiving the Manitoba Rugby Union’s Volunteer of the Year Award. This was the first time a club had hosted back‐to‐back national championships. The two fields which were developed (and which John helped maintained) are a legacy to the game of rugby in Brandon and Manitoba. Following John’s death in 2009 the North pitch was renamed “Reilly Field”.
Passed 2009