Grace Brooker (born 20 June 1999) is a

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 ...

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 ...

player. She made her

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

debut for

in 2019. She plays for

Matatū Matatū is a New Zealand women's professional rugby union team that competes in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. Matatū represents the South Island, specifically the regions covered by the Crusaders and the Highlanders. They are governed ...

in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition and represents

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

Personal life

Brooker attended

Christchurch Girls' High School Christchurch Girls' High School in Christchurch, New Zealand, was established in 1877 and is the second oldest girls-only secondary school in the country, after Otago Girls' High School. History Christchurch Girls' High School was established i ...

and then graduated with a Bachelor of Sport Coaching in

Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

Rugby career

2019

Brooker made her

debut for

against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 17 August at

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. She scored two tries for the NZ Development XV at the

Oceania Rugby Women's Championship Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship is an international women's rugby union competition contested by women's national teams from Oceania. The current Champions is Fiji who claimed their third Oceania title at the Championship in New Zealand. H ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

2021

In 2021, she was named in the Black Ferns touring squad to England and France. Brooker earned her first start in the second test match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She sustained a knee injury in the 24th minute and was replaced by

Patricia Maliepo Patricia Maliepo (born 13 March 2003) is a New Zealand rugby union player. She is a first five-eighth for Auckland and New Zealand. Rugby career Maliepo debuted for Auckland in the Farah Palmer Cup as a 16-year-old in 2019. She impressed for ...

. She was ruled out of the tour after undergoing knee surgery. Brooker signed with

for the inaugural season of Super Rugby Aupiki for 2022. However, her ongoing knee injury forced her to miss the competitions debut.

2022–23

Despite missing out on selection for the Black Ferns for their World Cup defence on home soil, Brooker assisted the Black Ferns with video analysis during the tournament. Brooker was named in the Black Ferns side to compete in the Pacific Four Series and O’Reilly Cup. On 23 September 2023, she captained the Black Ferns XV's team against a Manusina XV's side at

Navigation Homes Stadium Navigation Homes Stadium is a stadium in Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the ...

in Pukekohe. She scored a try in her sides 38–12 victory.

References

External links

Black Ferns Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooker, Grace 1999 births Living people New Zealand female rugby union players New Zealand women's international rugby union players