Zinzan Brooke
New Zealand
player portrait
Full name (Murray) Zinzan Valentine Brooke
Born February 14, 1965, Waiuku
Current age 59 years 62 days
Major teams Harlequins, New Zealand Maori, New Zealand, New Zealand XV
Position No. 8
Height 6 ft 4 in
Weight 231 lb

Test career
Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Won Lost Draw %
All Tests 1987-1997 58 54 4 89 17 0 0 3 45 11 2 79.31
Bledisloe Cup 1990-1997 15 15 0 19 4 0 0 0 11 4 0 73.33
IRB Rugby World Cup 1987-1995 10 10 0 15 3 0 0 1 8 2 0 80
The Rugby Championship 1996-1997 8 8 0 5 1 0 0 0 8 0 0 100

Career statistics
Test debut New Zealand v Argentina at Wellington, Jun 1, 1987 match details
Last Test England v New Zealand at Twickenham, Dec 6, 1997 match details
Test Statsguru Main menu | Career summary | Match list | Most points | Most tries | Tournament list

English Premiership
Team Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Won Lost Draw %
All matches 1998-2000 35 26 9 25 5 0 0 0 17 17 1 50
Harlequins 1998-2000 35 26 9 25 5 0 0 0 17 17 1 50
Profile

All Blacks No.8 Zinzan Brooke possessed the unique talent of being both an agile forward and having an impressive kicking side to his game.

Setting a world record for his specific era - Brooke scored 17 Test rugby tries. And the first of these tries came against Argentina in 1987 where the young back-row helped his side to a conclusive 46-15 victory. However, in front of Brooke in the All Blacks pecking order was the legendary Buck Shelford so Zinzan had to wait until after 1990 - when the All Blacks selectors deemed Shelford to be surplus to requirements- to have a regular run in the first-team.

He went onto be a vital member of the New Zealand World Cup squad in 1991 and 1995 and contributed an unforgettable moment which has gone down in rugby folklore against England during the 1995 showpiece.

With the posts lying 47 metres away from the rampaging No.8 - Brooke set his sights and nailed an outrageous field goal - and in the process propelling him into the rugby spotlight. However, Brooke's joy proved to be short-lived as the All Blacks went down to the Springboks in the historic 1995 World Cup final.

Brooke's final Test came against England at Twickenham in December 1997. He finished his career with 58 caps for the All Blacks and 42 non-international appearances for the national side.

Following an impressive career at club level with Auckland throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Brooke opted to move to the northern hemisphere to Harlequins where he played four seasons for the London side up until his retirement in 2001.

Latest Articles
The Kiwis who took flight to the Premiership (Jan 14, 2015) A lucky punt (Sep 14, 2011) Rugby's greatest rivalry resumes (Jul 26, 2009) Brooke demands payback for Scottish surrender (Nov 7, 2008)
Latest Photos
Oct 16, 2007
Former All Blacks legend Zinzan Brooke
Former All Blacks legend Zinzan Brooke
©  Getty Images
May 23, 1999
Francois Pienaar and Zinzan Brooke pose with a trophy
Francois Pienaar and Zinzan Brooke pose with a trophy
©  Getty Images
Mar 16, 1998
Zinzan Brooke of Harlequins
Zinzan Brooke of Harlequins
©  Getty Images
Jul 5, 1997
Zinzan Brooke during the Haka
Zinzan Brooke during the Haka
©  Getty Images
Zinzan Brooke rugby photos (5) »

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