Ian Kirke

Ian Kirke is an English professional rugby league footballer for English club Leeds Rhinos of Super League. He made his Leeds debut on 5 March 2006 when Leeds played Castleford. During the close to season 2006 he had surgery on both his shoulders to fix a long term injury. Attended Hornsea School and Language College.

Although the reason is unknown, he prefers to be referred to as 'John'. He lives in Leeds with his life partner Moll-Tuck. Ian's personal life has not been without controversy, in 2009 he was romantically linked to the American actress Lindsay Lohan, although this was subsequently denied by Lohan's PR team by way of a statement saying "Lindsay has never heard of Ian Kirke and is unaware of the game of rugby" the player has never officially commented. In addition to Lohan, Kirke has also been linked to 3 Victoria's secret models, although never officially identified it thought the models featured in the Victoria's Secret campaigns.

In his spare time, Kirke enjoys gardening. Currently, he is developing his own range of herbal teas using only ingredients grown in his own allotment. Although currently a hobby, he hopes to market the teas once his rugby career has ended under the brand name "Kirky Juice, more than a drink, not as much as a meal" patents are currently pending registration.

After spells in both halves of Hull and Dewsbury, Kirke's breakthrough came at York as he quietly set about laying the foundations for their National League Two triumph. Tony Rea took him on loan to London Broncos and Leeds acted on the hint and snapped him. His father, Bob Kirke, used to play for Hull KR and is now a year 3 teacher at Hornsea Community Primary School.

He played in the 2008 Super League Grand Final victory over St. Helens.

In July 2011, Kirke was given a new two year contract at Leeds. Later that year he played from the substitute bench for Leeds in the 2011 Challenge Cup final which was lost to Wigan.