Bruce Trevor Reihana (born 6 April 1976) is a former

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 it ...

rugby player. He was a utility back, most notably for the majority of his career as captain of

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

in the English Premership.

Biography

Born in

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, New Zealand, Reihana started playing in the

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 ...

level with

Waikato Waikato () is a 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 City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...

in 1996 and led them to two

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

victories out of three. He played for the Chiefs in the former Super 12 from 1997 to 2002 with 58 games and 123 points to his name. Internationally, Reihana represented the New Zealand Sevens in the rugby sevens. He played in the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''( Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unpreceden ...

and the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

, winning gold medals on each occasion. He made 11 appearances for New Zealand Māori. He made his debut for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

on 18 November 2000. After not renewing his contract with the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

in 2002, Reihana managed to get an overseas contact with Premiership side the

. He was used at fullback and became an influential figure for the Saints and even won the 2003–2004 PRA Players' Player of the Year Award. Reihana was scheduled to return to New Zealand rugby after his stint in Europe, but it did not materialise as he decided to stay in England citing personal reasons. Resuming his career with the Saints, Reihana was promoted to captain after Steve Thompson decided to step down as co-captain. During a 2006-07 Guinness Premiership match against

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

on 23 September 2006, Reihana suffered a knee ligament injury that would sideline him until 2007. Reihana relinquished the Saints captaincy at the end of the 2008-09 Guinness Premiership, when

Dylan Hartley Dylan Hartley (born 24 March 1986) is a former England Rugby captain who represented England and Northampton Saints. Hartley was the captain of England from January 2016 until the end of his international career in 2019. He is England's most ca ...

was appointed in his place. On 2 October 2010 Reihana scored 17 points against the

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home m ...

to take him through the milestone of 1,000 points for the Saints. Bruce left the Northampton Saints at the end of the

2010–11 Aviva Premiership 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

to join the French team, Bordeaux. This was announced over

BBC Radio Northampton BBC Radio Northampton is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Northamptonshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Abington Street in Northampton. According to RAJAR, the station has a ...

during the final Aviva Premiership game of the season, against

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include: Current * Leeds Carnegie Handball Club Changed name * Leeds Carnegie ...

, as Bruce Reihana joined the field. At the end of the 2013–2014 Season, Reihana retired as a player from professional rugby and became the skills coach for the Bordeaux rugby team. He has since moved to Bristol at the beginning of the 2017/18 season to work with Bristol Rugby. Bruce Reihana was the Skills and Performance Coach with Bristol Bears and even more so still trained with his players in his fitness programs, he followed this mantra in doing the same with Bordeaux Begles Rugby and is still up with the fitness of The youngest players with in the first XV. In August 2020, Reihana left his role with Bristol Bears and became skills and attack coach for Clifton Rugby, linking up with former Bristol Captain Matt Salter for the National 2 south frontrunners as they bid to seal promotion to National League 1.

References

External links

*
Saints profile

Bruce Reihana merchandise

Bruce Reihana Testimonial 2010/2011 official website

Purchase Bruce Reihana official prints
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reihana, Bruce 1976 births Living people Chiefs (rugby union) players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of New Zealand Expatriate rugby union players in France Māori All Blacks players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France New Zealand international rugby sevens players New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand male rugby sevens players New Zealand rugby union players Northampton Saints players Rugby sevens players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Rugby sevens players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Thames, New Zealand Rugby union wings Union Bordeaux Bègles players Waikato rugby union players