Born: 27 March, 1966 Test record: 5 Tests (1985, 1989) – 1 try (4 points) Tours: 1985 tour of Great Britain and France, 1986 tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea, 1989 tour of Great Britain and France.
Auckland front-rower James Goulding played five Tests for New Zealand during the second half of the 1980s and made three overseas tours with the Kiwis, as well as featuring in Newcastle Knights’ and Western Reds’ foundation seasons.
In a whirlwind 1985 campaign, the 19-year-old Richmond prospect debuted for Auckland, and represented Auckland and a Central Districts Invitation XIII against Australia, before being plucked out of the Junior Kiwis team that was set to tour Australia and handed a spot in the New Zealand side to tour Britain and France.
Goulding’s nine appearances abroad included a Test debut in the second-row in the series-opening win over France.
He played five games on the Kiwis’ 1986 tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea but was not called upon for the Test matches.
Amid a two-season hiatus from the national side, Goulding was part of the big contingent of New Zealanders in the fledgling Knights’ 1988 squad, playing 29 top-grade games across three seasons for the club.
Strong performances in the NSWRL premiership in 1989 earned Goulding a Kiwis recall, playing all three Tests of the home series against Australia at prop.
Chosen to tour Britain and France again at the end of the season, the 23-year-old scored a try in New Zealand’s first-Test win over Great Britain at Old Trafford. But a broken hand in that match brought the in-form Goulding’s tour – and, ultimately, his Kiwis career – to a premature end.
Goulding spent the 1990-91 season with Hull KR before a stint in Wellington, where he helped the province to a win over Auckland and Wainuiomata to a grand final in 1993. He played one game in first grade for Perth-based Western Reds in the 1995 premiership.
