Stephen Brett (born 23 November 1985) is a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player. He is the head coach for Rugby ATL in

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Of ...

(MLR).

Playing career

Brett is a versatile back whose preferred position is first five-eighth, although he can also play second five-eighth and fullback. He is the stepson of former

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a 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. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

and New Zealand centre

Victor Simpson Victor Lenard James Simpson (born 26 February 1960) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A Rugby union positions#Centre, centre, Simpson represented Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union, Poverty Bay briefly and then Canterbury Rugby Football U ...

. He has worked on improving his goal kicking and defensive skills, which have led some to suggest Brett's primary weakness is in his defence, thus impeding his progress to higher levels.

Super 14

Brett made his Super Rugby debut in 2006 for the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

but had to wait until the following season to make his mark. With regular first-five Daniel Carter being unavailable for much of the season due to the World Cup conditioning program, Brett seized his chance in the number 10 jersey and finished

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

as the Crusader's top scorer with 90 points. He continued his good form into the 2008 competition, scoring a try and picking up the Man of the Match award in the Crusaders brilliant 54–19 victory over reigning champions the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, before breaking his collarbone in a 55–7 win against the

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

; the injury sidelined Brett for around six weeks. He was signed by the Blues for the 2010 and 2011 seasons,

Japan and France

On 29 July 2011, Brett left New Zealand to join Japanese club Toyota Verblitz in the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

on a two-year contract. On 22 April 2013, Brett left Japan to sign for

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

from the start of the 2013–14 season. On 17 April 2014, Brett left Bayonne as he signed for another French side,

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

in the Top 14 on a two-year contract from the 2014–15 season.

Coaching

Brett then transferred his rugby skills into coaching, serving as an Assistant Coach to the now defunct Colorado Raptors and is now the current Attack Coach for Rugby ATL in the

competition in the USA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brett, Stephen 1985 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players Crusaders (rugby union) players Toyota Verblitz players Aviron Bayonnais players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union centres Māori All Blacks players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in France People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School People from Waiouru Rugby union players from Manawatū-Whanganui