Kevin Iro, also known by the nickname of '"The Beast", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, and coached in the 2000s. Iro was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He is of Cook Islanders descent. As a junior, he played for the Glen Innes Falcons, a feeder club to Ellerslie during the 1980s.

The Beast’ moniker illustrated the powerful impact Kevin Iro had as a blockbusting centre or winger in the Kiwi jersey for more than a decade, and on the British and Australian club scenes for 15 seasons. A devastating ball-runner to rank alongside anyone in world rugby league and blessed with superb skill and natural instincts, Iro was lured to Wigan (along with older brother Tony, who earned his maiden Kiwis call-up the following season) by Graham Lowe in late-1987. Iro joined Lowe again at Manly in 1991-92 before returning to England with Leeds and featuring in a pair of Wembley losses to his former club Wigan during a five-season stay.

A Junior Kiwi in 1986, the 19-year-old announced himself on the international stage with 20 points (three tries, four goals) – a world record for a player on Test debut – against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby before starring in New Zealand’s stunning Lang Park upset of Australia. Iro’s 1988 New Zealand player of the year season included another hat-trick against the Kumuls at Carlaw Park, an appearance for Rest of the World against Australia and a try in the Kiwis’ World Cup final loss to Australia at Eden Park. He played in seven of the Kiwis’ eight Test matches in 1989.

Iro then featured in a drought-breaking trans-Tasman victory in 1997 and came off the bench to score two barnstorming tries in the Kiwis’ iconic defeat of the Kangaroos in 1998, briefly co-holding the New Zealand record for most Test tries. The game-breaker farewelled the black-and-white jersey in a historic series win in Britain. After one-season stints with Hunter Mariners (1997) and Auckland Warriors (1998), Iro’s career wound down with four seasons at St Helens that garnered two Super League grand final triumphs and another Challenge Cup final victory. All told, he scored a phenomenal 175 tries in 344 club matches in England and Australia.

Iro captained Cooks Islands’ 2000 World Cup campaign and later coached the national side, while he also represented Cook Islands at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in rugby sevens. In an incredible playing career in both the Northern and Sourhern Hemisphere, Iro played for eight clubs in total; Glen Innes Falcons, Mount Albert Lions, Wigan, Manly Sea Eagles, Leeds, Hunter Mariners, Auckland Warriors and St Helens.