Irwin, who played seven tests and 25 matches in all for the All Blacks, died in Rotorua over the weekend, aged 83.
Irwin played for Otago while he attended the University of Otago as a medical student.
He was a promising player when he attended Wanganui Collegiate and first played for Otago in 1953, his first year at university.
He quickly attracted attention nationally and made his debut for the All Blacks in 1955 against the Wallabies, aged just 20.
At 103kg and 1.83m, he was big for his position in those days.
Irwin played for the All Blacks the following year in the first test against the Springboks at Carisbrook but was forced to leave the field at halftime because of sore ribs.
He did not play in the last three tests of the series.
Irwin, who played for the University club, last played for the All Blacks in the first test of the tour of South Africa in 1960. He moved to the North Island in 1961 and played two years for Poverty Bay and then Bay of Plenty.
Irwin worked for more than 40 years as a GP and anaesthetist in Rotorua.
As well as being an All Black, Irwin was also a very good rower.
He was named in a New Zealand rowing eight to go to the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 but the Olympic selectors did not select the eight to attend the Games.
