Grace Steinmetz (born 16 January 1998) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. She made her test debut for the Black Ferns in 2022. She played for Chiefs Manawa in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition, she previously played for Matatū. She also represented Canterbury provincially.
| Date of birth | 16 January 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Paraparaumu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 71 kg (157 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal life
editSteinmetz was born in Paraparaumu. She participated in hockey, athletics and touch rugby before she moved into Sevens rugby.[1] She is the niece of 2002 All Blacks second five Paul Steinmetz.[2]
Steinmetz is a lawyer and studied Law and Commerce at the University of Canterbury.[3][4]
Rugby career
edit2018–20
editSteinmetz played sevens for Wellington and was in Japan on a sevens contract in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to return to New Zealand.[3][2]
Steinmetz made her debut for Canterbury in 2018. She was selected for the Black Ferns Sevens training squad in 2019 and was part of Canterbury's fourth Farah Palmer Cup title win in 2020.[5] She came off the bench for the Probables against the Possibles in a Black Ferns trial match.[6][7]
Steinmetz played for the Black Ferns against the New Zealand Barbarians on 21 November 2020 at Nelson.[5]
2021–22
editSteinmetz signed with Matatū for the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki season in 2022.[3][8][9] She was initially named in the Black Ferns squad for the 2022 Pacific Four Series but was ruled out due to injury.[10][11]
After missing out on the Pacific Four tournament, Steinmetz was recalled into the team for the August test series against Australia for the Laurie O'Reilly Cup.[12][13] She made her test debut for the Black Ferns against Australia on 27 August 2022 in Adelaide.[14]
2023–24
editOn 28 November 2023, it was announced that she had signed with Chiefs Manawa for the 2024 Super Rugby Aupiki season.[15][16]
On 4 October 2024 she announced her retirement due to a brain injury diagnosis.[17]
References
edit- ^ "Grace Steinmetz #222". stats.allblacks.com. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ a b van Royen, Robert (9 October 2020). "Rugby one of multiple career options for Canterbury speedster Grace Steinmetz". Stuff. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ a b c van Royen, Robert (4 November 2021). "Newly qualified lawyer Grace Steinmetz sets sights on home World Cup". Stuff. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "UC Student Grace Steinmetz is well on track to a successful career in sport". The University of Canterbury. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ a b Waters, Victor (19 November 2020). "Black Ferns name two debutants for NZ Barbarians clash". 1 News. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "Bay of Plenty women named in Possibles v Probables". NZ Herald. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "Possibles v Probables named for Black Ferns trial match". allblacks.com. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "Super Rugby Aupiki women's franchises confirm squads". NZ Sports Wire. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2022.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Matatū confirm their inaugural 2022 squad". Crusaders Rugby. 4 November 2021. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "31-strong Black Ferns squad named for home June Test series". allblacks.com. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ "Injury replacements called into Black Ferns". allblacks.com. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ "Black Ferns named for O'Reilly Cup Test series". allblacks.com. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- ^ Brown, Roger (15 August 2022). "2022 Laurie O'Reilly Cup Black Ferns Vs Wallaroos " When Does It Start, Live Streams And Schedule"". thedailyrugby.com. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ Burnes, Campbell (27 August 2022). "Black Ferns made to work hard in Adelaide". allblacks.com. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ "Chiefs Manawa squad announced for 2024". Chiefs. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ "Sky Super Rugby Aupiki squads locked in for 2024". superrugby.co.nz. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ "Black Fern Grace Steinmetz forced to retire after brain injury diagnosis". The New Zealand Herald. 4 October 2024. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.