Grassroots Rugby grows great players

More often than not the love for rugby grows from the grassroots, and that’s no different for two Canterbury women, Grace Brooker and Alana Bremner. 

Both playing for country teams and debuting for Canterbury in 2018, Bremner was part of the Black Ferns 2021 winning World Cup squad. Brooker debuted for the Black Ferns in 2019, but due to a serious knee injury was unavailable for World Cup selection. 

Bremner speaks fondly of her years playing for Banks Peninsula in the Ellesmere Rugby Sub-Union, saying the community is what makes country rugby special, “It’s a club that’s done heaps for me, that’s where I grew my love for the game.”  

The only girl in her club team for some time, Bremner credits her teammates for not treating her any differently “a lot of that rugby has shaped me into the player I am today, so really grateful I was able to play in that club competition for so many years.” 

Brooker played for Oxford in North Canterbury along with her representative playing brother, Danny, who Brooker names as the person she most admires as well as her biggest influence.  

Bremner and Brooker, alongside West Melton juniors Lucy Jenkins and Hannah King, are a part of the Canterbury squad that is set to take on Hawke's Bay at home this Sunday in the Semi Finals of the Farah Palmer Cup, with kick off at 1:05pm at Rugby Park, as the women’s side look to defend their Premiership title. 

Written by Hannah Yates