Born: June 10, 1956
Test record: 0 Tests
Tours: 1982 tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea

West Coast hooker John Griffin toured Australia and Papua New Guinea with the Kiwis in 1982.

The Runanga stalwart represented his province from 1975 and South Island from 1976, while he played for a New Zealand XIII against Northern and Southern Zones in 1977.

A former New Zealand age-group rep, Griffin played for South Island in a win over Combined Sydney in 1976 and a heavy loss to Australia in 1977, and West Coast against Great Britain in 1979.

Griffin featured in South Island’s midweek KB Cup match against Brisbane in 1982 before touring with New Zealand as Howie Tamati’s hooker understudy. He featured in losses to Toowoomba and Northern Division in Australia and wins over Highland Zone and Island Zone in Papua New Guinea.

He starred in Runanga’s fourth straight West Coast Rugby League premiership success that year but a shoulder injury brought his playing days to a premature end in 1983.

After taking over as Runanga coach in 1985, Griffin helped extend the club’s streak to nine consecutive titles.

His nephew, Slade Griffin, played one Test for New Zealand in 2018 during a successful but injury-hampered NRL career with Melbourne and Newcastle.