Kevin James Ryan

Kevin James Ryan, born 26 August 1934 in Ipswich, Queensland is an Australian, former state parliamentarian and local mayor, barrister and advocate. In the 1950s and 1960s he was an Australian dual-code rugby international representative and had previously been a Queensland amateur boxing champion in 1958 and 1959, who trialled for the 1960 Olympics.

Raised in the Somerset Region in Linville, Queensland to May Helena Ryan and her husband Matthew a bushman and horseman, he learnt the rudiments of boxing as a young boy. He attended boarding-school for his high-school years at St Joseph's College, Nudgee from 1948-52 where he started to play rugby union.

After school Ryan played seven seasons with the Brisbane Brothers club from 1953 to 1959. In the Writer interview he refers to a senior player-coach role that he performed in his final two years at the club and he spoke of the loyalty he felt to the club in 1959 when having agreed terms with St George and having achieved his rugby union representative ambitions, he played out the 1959 season with Brothers and helped them win the 1959 Brisbane Club Premiership.

He was selected in the squad for the 1957–58 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France. He made his international representative debut in the 3rd Test match of the tour, that against England national rugby union team at Twickenham on 1 February 1958. Australian were beaten 9-6. Following the tour's end he made four further appearances for the Wallabies in 1958, firstly against a visiting NZ Maori All Blacks side and then in all three Tests against the All Blacks on the Wallabies 1958 tour of New Zealand.