Mr Josh Adrian Kronfeld
Hastings Boys' High School 1984 - 1989
Mr Kronfeld attended Hastings Boys’ High School from 1984-1989. He was a member of the schools First XV from 1987-1989. In 1989 he was awarded the Greg Pulford Memorial Cup for contribution to Rugby and the Deputy Headboy’s Award. He captained the First XV and made the following representative teams, HB U18, Regional U18, HB Secondary Schools and the Central Regions Team. He also led the First XV to an unbeaten local season and captained the team at the Caltex Top Four Tournament.
Mr Kronfeld was an All Black who represented New Zealand, Otago, the Highlanders and Leicester at first-class levels. During his international career, Mr Kronfeld made his All Black test debut in 1995, playing against Canada at Eden Park in Auckland and played in 56 games for the All Blacks, gaining 54 test caps, including appearances at both the 1995 and 1999 Rugby World Cups.
Mr Kronfeld played as an openside flanker, and his greatest attribute was considered to be the speed with which he was able to get to breakdowns in play, in order to gain or regain possession of the ball..
After the inception of the Super 12 competition in 1996, Mr Kronfeld also played for the Highlanders Super 12 franchise. In total, he made 42 appearances for the Highlanders. Mr Kronfeld remained a first choice player for Otago, the Highlanders and the All Blacks until 2000. At the end of the 2000 season, after 69 matches for Otago, 42 for the Highlanders in the Super 12, and 56 All Black matches including 54 tests, Mr Kronfeld left New Zealand rugby to take up a contract with the English club, Leicester. In May 2001 he officially signed with English club Leicester Tigers.
Outside of rugby Mr Kronfeld also studied at University of Otago and now practices Physiotherapy and has made numerous media appearances, including Celebrity Treasure Island and in 2009 he participated in the fifth season of TVNZ's entertainment series Dancing with the Stars. He has been overheard as saying that his favourite rugby memories are from his 1st XV days at Hastings Boys’ High School.
