PLAYER PROFILE
Michaela Brake
KEY STATS
BIOGRAPHY
The Taranaki speedster developed her pace on the athletics track before following in her mother’s footsteps and taking up rugby for her provincial union.
A former New Plymouth Girl's High School student, Brake (nee Blyde) made her first appearance in the black jersey at the Oceania Sevens in Noosa while still at school.
Brake had a breakthrough season in 2016/17, as top try and point scorer in the World Series, named DHL Impact Player of the Series and picked up the World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year award.
She became the first female player to win back-to-back World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year titles when claiming the award in 2018, the same year she won a Commonwealth Games gold medal at Sevens World Cup.
She has two Olympic Gold medals.
Brake’s mother, Cherie Blyde, played for the Black Ferns in 1992.