Daniel John Braid (born 23 February 1981) 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 ...

player from

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 ...

who captained Sale Sharks in the

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. He played at open-side flanker. Previously, he played for the Blues in Super Rugby. He also won six full caps for 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, ...

between 2002 and 2010.

Career

Braid made his debut for Auckland in 2001 and for the Blues in 2003. He won ITM Cups for Auckland in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007. For the Blues he won the 2003 Super 12. He played three Tests for the All Blacks in 2002 and 2003, and for the

Junior All Blacks The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

in the 2007 Pacific Nations Cup. He was named New Zealand 'Player of the Year' in 2007. In July 2008, he played another international against Australia and in November 2010 made two more international appearances. Braid left New Zealand in 2009, and broke new ground when he signed with the

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions ...

. In April he signed with the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

in Wales, but ruptured his Achilles tendon and so the agreement was abandoned. In 2009 he signed on for an extra year with the Reds. In 2011 Braid returned to the Blues but was released at the end of

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

by incoming coach Sir John Kirwan. At the conclusion of the 2012 ITM Cup, Braid signed a short-term contract with English premiership team Sale Sharks. Following the end of the 2012–13 season Dan signed a full-time contract and has since been given the captaincy for the 2013–14 season and subsequently the 2014–15 season.

Personal life

Braid's younger brother

Luke Braid Luke Gary Braid (born 5 October 1988) is a rugby union footballer who plays for the Blues in Super Rugby and Auckland in the ITM Cup. He plays as a loose forward. Braid has also played for three national rugby union teams, the New Zealand Sch ...

is also a professional rugby player with the Blues. Their father Gary Braid played for the All Blacks in 1983. Dan boarded in Parnell house, Kings College, and was the subject of a bullying incident involving younger boys.

References

External links

*
Super Rugby Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braid, Daniel 1981 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Auckland rugby union players Queensland Reds players New Zealand international rugby union players Rugby union flankers People educated at King's College, Auckland Rugby union players from Tauranga Māori All Blacks players Blues (Super Rugby) players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Australia Sale Sharks players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia 2003 Rugby World Cup players