Zinzan Brooke
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| Zinzan Brooke | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zinzan Valentine Brooke | ||
| Date of birth | 1965-06-14 | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Position | No. 8 | ||
| Provincial/State sides | Caps | (points) | |
| Auckland | |||
| correct as of 2006-09-12. | |||
| Super Rugby | |||
| 1996-1997 | Auckland Blues | ||
| Current local club: | Retired | ||
| correct as of 2006-09-12. | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| 1987-97 | All Blacks | 58 | (89) |
| correct as of 2006-09-12. | |||
Zinzan Valentine Brooke (born February 14, 1965) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer who played at number eight.
He played 58 tests for New Zealand, and 42 non-international matches for the All Blacks, captained Auckland Blues to Super 12 championships in 1996 and 1997 and an influential figure in Auckland's dominance in the National Provincial Championship during the late '80's and 90's. He scored 17 tries in test matches, a world record for a forward. He also played for New Zealand Māori.
He is arguably the best number eight to have ever played for the All Blacks. He had the running and kicking skills of a backline player which made him extremely mobile and agile as a forward. He once kicked a 47 metre drop goal attempt during a 1995 Rugby World Cup match, one of three he scored in test matches. His brother Robin Brooke played lock for Auckland & New Zealand.
In 1997 he retired from international rugby union and moved to England to play for Harlequins and later coach them, but he was not very successful. During the 2002/03 season he played for Coventry in National Division One. He now plays amateur rugby union for Windsor Rugby Club in Berkshire, England.
It has been widely reported that he signed a contract to play rugby league for Graham Lowe's Manly club in the early 1990s, but subsequently changed his mind and stayed with rugby union. In 1995 his biography 'Zinny: The Zinzan Brooke story', written with Alex Veysey, was published.
