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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. Jack Kyle. www.barbarianfc.co.uk. Retrieved on 10 July 2018. Kyle was a member of the Irish team that won the grand slam in the 1948 Five Nations Championship.Van Esbeck, Edmund. "A day and a team etched in the annals – 1948: Ireland's Grand Slam. The Ravenhill climax". Irish Times. In 1950, Kyle was declared one of the six players of the year by the New Zealand Rugby Almanac. Kyle bio at Lions web site Kyle is a member of the International Rugby Hall of Fame and was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame Bio at International Rugby Hall of Fame. Archive.is. Retrieved on 10 July 2018. 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 named as Greatest Ever Irish Rugby Player. irishrugby.ie (5 May 2002). Retrieved on 2018-07-10.
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. Golden Jubilee Reunion 2008. Queen's University Belfast. In 2007, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Irish Journal of Medical Science and the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland. "Medical 'Oscar' for rugby's Jack Kyle", Lesley-Anne Henry, 1 February 2007, Belfast Telegraph He received an OBE in 1959.
Between 1947 and 1958, while playing for Ireland, he went on to make 46 full appearances and score 24 points, including 7 tries.
The highlight of his Ireland career came during the 1948 Five Nations Championship when, together with Karl Mullen and Mick O'Flanagan, he helped Ireland win a grand slam. Kyle played in all four games and he is often credited with masterminding Ireland's success. The Ireland Rugby Miscellany (2007): Ciaran Cronin In 1949, he also helped Ireland win the Triple Crown and in 1951, they won the title again. Kyle made his last appearance for Ireland against Scotland on 1 March 1958. Following a solo try against France at Ravenhill in 1953, an impressed newspaper journalist parodied The Scarlet Pimpernel with the lines:
They seek him here, they seek him there
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
That paragon of pace and guile,
That damned elusive Jackie Kyle.
Kyle died on 28 November 2014 after a prolonged illness and is survived by his son Caleb, daughter Justine and nephew David. "Ireland legend Jack Kyle dies at 88". Rte.ie (28 November 2014). Retrieved on 2018-07-10.
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