Brendon Leonard (born 16 April 1985) is a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer. Leonard plays half-back and made his provincial debut for

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

in the 2005

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...

. He was in the Chiefs wider training group for the 2006 Super 14. After playing for Waikato in their championship winning

2006 Air New Zealand Cup The 2006 Air New Zealand Cup was the inaugural season of the Air New Zealand Cup, contested by teams from New Zealand. The season ran from July to October 2006. At the end of the regular season, the top team from ''Repechage A'' and ''B'' joine ...

side, Leonard was selected for the Chiefs in the

2007 Super 14 The 2007 Super 14 season started in February 2007 with preseason matches held from mid-January. It finished on 19 May with the final at ABSA Stadium in Durban, in the first final between two South African teams in the history of Super Rugby. The ...

. Leonard had a successful Super 14 where he played for

Byron Kelleher Byron Terence Kelleher (born 3 December 1976 in Dunedin, New Zealand) is a former rugby union scrum-half who played for Stade Toulouse in the French Top 14 and has played 57 tests for the All Blacks. He was a very aggressive player, who speciali ...

who missed the first seven rounds of the competition to participate in the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

reconditioning programme. Following the 2007 Super 14 he was selected for the All Blacks squad for the 2007 mid-year Tests and 2007 Tri-Nations. He was one of only two uncapped players named in the squad, and All Blacks coach

Graham Henry Sir Graham William Henry (born 8 June 1946) is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. Nicknamed 'Ted', he led New Zealand to win the 2011 World Cup. Henry played rugby union for ...

said of Leonard's selection "Brendon eonardhas been the best attacking scrum-half in the Super 14 this season and has forced his way into the side based on form." He made his Test debut against France at Eden Park on 2 June 2007. He came on as a substitute for

Piri Weepu Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu (born 7 September 1983) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Weepu played most recently for Wairarapa Bush in the Heartland Championship. Generally Weepu played as a half-back but also played at first five-eight ...

in the 64th minute of the All Blacks 42–11 victory. He then scored his first Test try against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on 14 July 2007. On 12 August 2013, Leonard left New Zealand as he signed for new Italy franchise

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...

in the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

from the 2013–14 season. On 22 January it was announced Leonard had signed for the

Ospreys The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, mainly to provide experienced cover for Welsh international

Rhys Webb Rhys Webb (born 9 December 1988) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Ospreys. Born in Bridgend, he is a product of the Ospreys academy and played club rugby for Bridgend RFC and Aberavon RFC before breaking into the re ...

during the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Brendon 1985 births Living people People from Morrinsville New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves Chiefs (rugby union) players Waikato rugby union players Zebre Parma players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate rugby union players in Italy People educated at Matamata College Ospreys (rugby union) players Taranaki rugby union players Rugby union players from Waikato New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Wales Expatriate rugby union players in Wales 2007 Rugby World Cup players