The Best New Zealand Rugby Players Over the Years

Born Murray Zinzan Brooke on valentine’s day, 1965, he would later change his name to Zinzan Valentine Brooke by deed poll. Brooke comes from a rugby family with two brothers (Marty and Robin) who also represented New Zealand. He played his rugby at number eight and went on to play 58 tests for New Zealand and, at club level, captained Auckland Blues to Super 12 championships in 1996 and 1997. However, his claim to fame is scoring 17 tries in test matches. Widely considered one of the best number eights to have played the game. Former England centre and captain Will Carling placed him at number nine in his list of the ’50 Greatest Rugby players’ in The Daily Telegraph.

From the start, Jonah Tali Lomu was a record-breaker, becoming the youngest ever player to represent the All Blacks in 1994 (19 years and 45 days). He was one of the game’s first superstars and one of the few rugby stars known to non-rugby fans. Lomu broke onto the scene in the 1994 Hong Kong Rugby Sevens World Cup. After starting his career at Counties Manukau, he would become well-travelled and went on to represent Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Wellington, Cardiff Blues, North Harbour and Marseille Vitrolles. Although Lomu went into the 1995 World Cup, he had only won two caps previously, and he went on to score seven tries in five matches. However, New Zealand lost against South Africa in the final 15-12, with neither side managing to score a try. His last game at international level was in 2002, with his final game being a 43–17 against Wales. He played 63 times for the All Blacks, winning 44 with a win percentage of 69.84%.

Sean Fitzpatrick was another player from a rugby family, his father being Brian Fitzpatrick, who played 22 matches for the All Blacks, including three internationals. Playing as a hooker, he played from 1986 to 1997 for Auckland making 127 appearances, and in Super Rugby, he played 25 times for Blues between 1996 to 1997. As captain of the All Blacks, he cemented his place as one of the best New Zealand rugby players of all time, making 92 appearances between 1986 to 1997. His honours with New Zealand include the International record for most consecutive test matches (63 successive Tests between 1986 & 1996.) and the International team record for most successive tests without defeat (23 test matches between 1987 and 1990).

Jeff Wilson (born 24 October 1973) is a rare breed of sportsman who excels at every sport they try. Not only a legendary All-Black, but Wilson also represented New Zealand in cricket, making his One Day International on 19 March 1993 v Australia. He was also an excellent track and field runner and also a proficient basketball player. It is, however, rugby that he will be most fondly remembered for. His 44 tries in 60 tests make him the 12th highest try scorer for New Zealand. At club level, he played for Otago, where he scored 410 points in 56 appearances and a short spell at Southland, where he made 20 points in seven games.

Josh Kronfeld (born 20 June 1971) is a player that will be known to both the younger generation and the older generation. The younger generation will know him from his tv appearances, being a contestant on the fifth season of TVNZ’s entertainment series Dancing with the Stars. The older generation will remember his 56 games for the All Blacks, who he represented at the 1995 and 1999 Rugby World Cups. He is also known to rugby fans in the UK after signing for Leicester in 2001. He made 39 appearances for Leicester, scoring 35 points. After his contract expired in 2003, he returned to New Zealand to pursue a TV career. He is also a qualified Physiotherapist.

Andrew Philip Mehrtens (born 28 April 1973) was born in South Africa but moved to New Zealand with his parents when aged four. He was a late bloomer in rugby, with tennis seeming a likelier career until his late teens. However, he first started to get noticed while playing in the national under 19s in 1992. He was first selected for Canterbury a year later and would make 107 appearances, scoring a remarkable total of 1056 points. For the All Blacks, he played between 1995 to 2004, scoring 967 points over 70 games.

Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa “Tana” Umaga (born 27 May 1973) is another Kelvin Tremain award winner who comes from good sporting stock. His brother is Mike Umaga, a former Samoa international rugby union and rugby league footballer, and other family members include Jerry Collins (cousin), Jacob Umaga (nephew), Peter Umaga-Jensen (nephew) and Thomas Umaga-Jensen (nephew). In his early career, he played wing for the Wellington Lions alongside his brother and was the leading try scorer for three years. Later, he would captain the All Blacks, winning 19 of his first 22 games as the leader. They achieved a clean sweep of the British & Irish Lions and the Grand Slam during this period in 2005. He represented his national side 74 times, scoring 180 points.

Todd Blackadder (born 20 September 1971) was a New Zealand rugby union player who left Rangiora College without ever being selected for the team. However, his fortunes changed with he took up an apprenticeship in Collingwood and was spotted by scouts whilst playing for Nelson Bays. He first represented the All Blacks after being selected for the New Zealand Under 19 tour of Australia. A loyal player, he played 41 times for Edinburgh, 126 times for Canterbury and five years at International level, making 12 appearances and scoring five points. He went into coaching after retirement and coached Tasman, Crusaders and Bath. He is currently the coach of Toshiba Brave Lupus in Japan. His son, Ethan Blackadder, followed in his father’s footsteps, making his All Blacks debut against Tonga at Eden Park in July 2021.

Christopher Raymond Jack (born 5 September 1978) played at lock for Canterbury and the Tasman Mako in the National Provincial Championship. In Christchurch, he made his test debut for the All Blacks against Argentina on 23 June 2001, scoring a try 11 minutes after coming on as a replacement. He soon became a regular, making 67 appearances between 2001 and 2007. He is known to UK Audiences after spending two years with the English Premiership side Saracen, alongside Glen Jackson. In the same year, he won the Kelvin Tremain Award he was named the New Zealand rugby player of the year.

Richard Hugh McCaw (born 31 December 1980) is the most successful Kelvin Tremain Award winners, being the only player in history to win the award on four separate occasions (2003, 2006, 2009 and 2012). He has also been awarded the title of World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year, a joint-record three times. In addition, he was the first All-Black player to be capped 100 times and was also the first player to win 100 tests. He played for Canterbury (34 apps, 50 points), winning the 2001, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 championships. And Crusaders (145 apps, 135 points), where he won titles in 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2008 championships. He was inducted into the Rugby Hall of Fame in 2019.

Daniel William Carter (born 5 March 1982) – while some players accidentally discover they have skills on the rugby field, that cannot be said of this two-time Kelvin Tremain award winner. Daniel’s talents were known at an early age. From the age of 5, he played at Southbridge Rugby Club as a half back. Carter joined Canterbury in 2002 and also signed for the Super Rugby side, the Crusaders a year later. With the Crusaders, he reached the Super 12 competition final in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, winning the 2005 and 2006 editions. At Crusaders, Carter went on to make 141 appearances and score an incredible 1,708 points. He made his All Blacks debut aged 21 and scored 20 points. In 2010, Carter took the world record off England’s Jonny Wilkinson for total points scored and although Wilkinson would claim it back for a while, Carter made it his own a year later. He ended with 1,598 test points (29 tries, 293 conversions, 281 penalties, and eight drop goals) in 112 tests.

Daniel John Braid (born 23 February 1981) is another Kelvin Tremain Award winner well-known to rugby fans in England, having captained the Sale Sharks in the English Premiership, where he played from 2012 to 2016. It is, however, his stints for Auckland (2001-2008) and the Blues (2003-2009) that he was recognised for. Braid won ITM Cups for Auckland in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007 and the 2003 Super 12 for the Blues. He was named New Zealand ‘Player of the Year’ in 2007 and was later considered a trailblazer by signing for the Queensland Reds in 2009. He made six appearances for the All Blacks, a relatively modest number compared to other award winners.

Andrew Keith Hore (born 13 September 1978) was one of a rare breed of athletes who played for the love of the game rather than the money or the fame. Hore was raised on Stonehenge Farm, which has been in the family since the turn of the 18th century and always classed himself as a farmer first and a rugby player second. Despite this modesty, he had a decent senior career that saw him have stints with Otago, Crusaders, Taranaki, Hurricanes and Highlanders. At the international level, he made 83 appearances for the All Blacks, captaining the side in the final pool match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup when Richie McCaw and Dan Carter were injured. Carter’s injury also saw him miss games in the Rugby Championship.

Kieran James Read (born 26 October 1985), despite showing promise as a batsman, Read chose a life in rugby which was vindicated as he became one of the most-capped players of all time. Read played 156 times for the Crusaders between 2007 and 2019 and captained the side from 2014 to 2016, but injuries saw his playing time reduced in later years. His 127 caps for the All Blacks puts him 12th on the all-time list headed by Alun Wyn Jones (162 caps) and 4th in the All Blacks list, only bettered by Sam Whitelock (132), Keven Mealamu (132) and Richie McCaw (148). However, he was somewhat a lucky charm for the All Blacks; in the 24 internationals he scored a try, New Zealand only lost once (21-38 against England at Twickenham) in 2012.

Jerome Kaino (born 6 April 1983) was born in American Samoa and moved to Papakura, Auckland, at the age of four. He played much of his career for the Blues, where he made 137 appearances between 2004 to 2018. He would later have stints at Japanese club Toyota Verblitz and French club Toulouse where he played 62 times. At international level, he represented the All Blacks 83 times, scoring 65 points. He was in the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning teams making him one of only 20 players to have more than one World Cup win to their name.

Brodie Allan Retallick (born 31 May 1991) has made a meaningful impact in world rugby since his international debut in 2012. Retallick was an essential part of the 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning team and a year earlier won the World Rugby Player of the Year, the youngest player to have ever received it. In that World Cup, Retallick was selected in the starting line-up for the quarter-finals against France and scored the opening try after 11 minutes. The All Blacks went on to win that game 62-13, a record in the competition. In 2019, he re-signed for New Zealand rugby for an additional three years on the proviso that he could play for the Kobelco Steelers in Japan.

Ma’a Allan Nonu (born 21 May 1982) is another All-Black player in the exclusive club of those who have won the World Cup on more than one occasion, as Nonu was part of New Zealand’s 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning teams. Nonu made his Test debut on 14 June 2003, starting at centre in the narrow 15-13 loss to England. However, his early career was hindered by the manager preferring Aaron Mauger and Daniel Carter in the midfield, meaning he missed out on the 2003 Tri-Nations. He has since represented the All Blacks 103 times, scoring 155 points.

Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is another player with family ties to rugby, as he has three brothers who all played the sport (Jordie Barrett, Kane Barrett and Scott Barrett). He plays at the First Five-Eighth position (fly-half) and was an integral member of the 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning team. In June 2012, Barrett was picked in the All Blacks squad for the Irish tour of New Zealand, an inclusion that coincided with a winning run for the team, and Barrett holds the world record for consecutive wins (19 wins from 19 tests). He has since made 101 appearances for the All Blacks, scoring 703 points. He has represented New Zealand in the Bledisloe Cup, a match against the All Blacks nearest rivals, Australia.

Sam Whitelock (born 12 October 1988) shares many similarities with Beauden Barrett. He also has close family involved in rugby (his cousin Ben Funnell and brothers, Adam Whitelock, George Whitelock and Luke Whitelock). Whitelock, too, was also part of New Zealand’s 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning teams. His importance at the 2015 World Cup was so great that he played every single test, including the full 80 minutes in the three knock-out rounds. In addition, he is a legend with the Crusaders at club level, making 166 appearances for them since 2010.

Kendra Margaret Cocksedge (born 1 July 1988) has the distinction of being the first female winner of the Kelvin Tremain Award. Cocksedge was a member of both the 2010 and 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup-winning squads. In 20015, she was the top scorer at the Women’s Rugby Super Series and was awarded New Zealand’s Women’s Player of the Year award. She plays her club rugby at Canterbury, which she joined in 2015 while studying at Lincoln University in the UK. Cocksedge has won 57 caps for New Zealand, scoring 57 points, making her one of the best New Zealand rugby players of all time.

Ardie Suemalo Savea (born 14 October 1993) plays as a flanker for Wellington, the Hurricanes, and the All Blacks. In 2013 he began his international career by representing New Zealand on the international sevens circuit, and in the same year signed a two-year deal with the Hurricanes. In 2019, Josh Kronfeld and Sir Michael Jones were among the pundits who praised Savea for his consistent performances after playing every minute of Zealand’s five warm-up matches before the World Cup in 2019. He was also one of the only players not to be criticised after their World Cup defeat to England in the semi-finals. He has 59 caps for New Zealand, scoring 75 points.

Samuel Jordan Cane (born 13 January 1992) made his New Zealand international debut in 2012 in the second of a three-match series against Ireland as a substitute. He made his first start in the final match in front of his home crowd and put on an excellent performance, making 16 tackles and scoring two tries. Within a year, he was a regular starter for the All Blacks and was among the leading try scorers for his country. Cane was an essential member of the 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning team and captained the side for the 58 – 14 win over Namibia. Still active for the All Blacks, he has won 77 caps, scoring 75 points.

Sarah Hirini (born 9 December 1992) is the current holder of the Kelvin Tremain Award and only the second female ever to receive the honour. She has two Olympic medals to her name, winning silver in the Rugby Sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics and gold in the same event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In the final of the Olympics, New Zealand beat France 26-12. Hirini has been nominated four times in six years for the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Player of the Year, and she is also the first woman to play 200 matches on the international circuit – a worthy addition to the Kelvin Tremain Award winners hall of fame.