John Cameron Robbie was born in Greystones on 17 November 1955 and educated at Dublin High School and Trinity College, Dublin, before going to Cambridge where he gained Blues in 1977 and as captain in 1978 when he scored 17 points in the Varsity Match and also captained the University against the All Blacks. He worked as a brewery executive and played club rugby at scrum-half for Greystones and briefly for Pontypool. Between 1976 and 1981 he played nine times for Ireland. In 1980 he joined the British Isles tour of South Africa as a replacement and scored one try in seven matches and played in the fourth test. In the same year he played for Scotland & Ireland against England & Wales and captained the Barbarians against Swansea. John Robbie later emigrated to South Africa where he played for Transvaal and was a reserve for the Springboks against England in 1984.