Stephen Peter Kearney, ONZM

New Zealand Order of Merit

The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...

 (born 11 June 1972 in Paraparaumu, New Zealand) is a professional rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Parramatta Eels in the NRL as well as the New Zealand national team. As a player he spent most of his career, which spanned from the early 90s to the mid 2000s and included an NRL premiership and a Challenge Cup

Challenge Cup

The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....

 win as well as time spent as the captain of the New Zealand team, in the second row position.