Grace Brooker has carved her way in to the Black Ferns squad at the ripe age of 21, and has used a little Kiwi ‘number eight wire’ in the process.
Since the Black Ferns turned professional just three years ago the game has changed on and off the field pretty quickly.
Professionalism has meant these rugby women have gone from balancing careers with trainings twice a day to being paid to play the game they love.
With that comes discipline.Just like the All Blacks, the Black Ferns now track what they eat, how fast they can run, how heavy they can lift and how well they recover.
There are not many days when Black Fern Grace Brooker doesn't visit the gym to keep herself in top condition, but when the country was put in lockdown she returned to a training regime that even Sir Colin Meads would have been impressed with.
Brooker has carved her way in to the squad at the ripe age of 21, and has used a little Kiwi 'number eight wire' in the process.
The Cantabrian spent her lockdown two months ago in rural Oxford, near Christchurch with a population of about just 2000.
Brooker was stuck on options when she couldn't lift her usual tin at the gym because of the lockdown rules that meant all public facilities were closed.
Grace Brooker of NZ Black Ferns. Photo / Getty Images.
"We've got the tractor there, so I can chuck weight on the forks, or do pull-ups or whatever.
"I got my squats in, got everything in, I was very lucky. It was really fun, I went out to the farm just to get out of town, and out of the city to have some freedom still.
"I used hay bales as my bench to sit on and I'd lift them every now and then too. I used whatever I could really."
Showing her cheeky side, there is one social media clip where Brooker tackles a hay bale and addresses her followers with, "It's a bit harder than tackling the Aussies."
Brooker was training at the local rugby field too, rationing in sprints, drills and place kicks whilst studying her PE degree at Canterbury University remotely.
"It was pretty cool to get creative with whatever I could do and couldn't do."
Using a little Kiwi innovation Brooker went as far as to side-step her father's goats in the front paddock, like she would an opposition backline. The kind of stuff a young farm girl would do when growing up picturing herself in a black jersey.
Brooker is already there. She made her Black Ferns debut in 2019 against the Wallaroos at Eden Park. She has that one test under her belt and given world events she is unlikely to gain another in 2020. The Black Ferns had 10 scheduled matches before Covid 19 hit.
She is also preparing for the worst-case scenario of the season being delayed further and locking down back on the farm to do it all again if she has to.
Ever the optimist, Brooker is still eyeing up the Women's Rugby World Cup, to be held on New Zealand's own back lawn in September 2021. She will have to impress coach Glen Moore during the delayed Farah Palmer Cup, along with the extra Black Ferns Sevens mob who are made available for the FPC season.
"The goal is to be selected first and I am really looking forward to working my butt off to get selected. Taking it day by day and doing everything I can."
Black Fern Grace Brooker poses for a photograph during the New Zealand Black Ferns Training Camp at Rosmini College on July 07, 2020 in Takapuna. Photo / Getty Images.
With much of the Black Ferns Sevens team available for RWC selection, just eight weeks after the scheduled Tokyo Olympics 2021, the Cantabrian will be up against the likes of international superstar Ruby Tui in the centres. This doesn't faze Brooker and she welcomes the competition.
"Completely just bring it on, everyone is feeling it, everyone is super excited and everyone in the women's game is excited by good rugby.
"They [sevens players] will bring more mobility to the game."
Brooker recalls her debut in the black jersey as one of life's best moments. The emotion was so high when singing the national anthem at Eden Park in front of friends and family, alongside Black Ferns women she's always admired.
"It's honestly, I can't even describe it. When I did my debut, it was like floating on thin air. And to play a World Cup at home would be the ultimate goal I reckon.
"You couldn't really get much better than that."
Being a part of a professional environment has come with its challenges for a young woman just finding her place in the world. But it has been the making of the quietly spoken rural girl, who shows hints of a young leader herself when conducting media interviews and speaking with young fans.
"It is hard coming in as a young person and you are expected to mould into the professional environment. It really has sorted out my whole life, being able to study through it. The friends I've made, they are going to be life-long, it is pretty amazing."
Grace Brooker of Canterbury during the Farah Palmer Cup rugby match. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
A huge influence on Brooker has been her flatmate and good friend, Black Ferns halfback Kendra Cocksedge.
No questions are off limits for the 31-year-old maestro, says Brooker.
"There are definitely a few times we have a conversation about rugby, but we are quite mindful at turning it off as well.
"If I've got a question, position-wise she is there, honestly anything. It's definitely helpful - it's like having a rugby encyclopaedia with you wherever you go."
Brooker will be lining up for Canterbury when the delayed Farah Palmer Cup gets underway on September 5th.
"Down here [Canterbury] we are just super excited, we are ready to do some new stuff in the women's game, we are keen to get out there and show NZ what women in rugby can do."
