Neroli Matautia (née Knight, b. September 13, 1974) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. At the age of 15, she made her debut for the Black Ferns against the Netherlands on 26 August 1990 at the RugbyFest in Christchurch.[1][2]
| Date of birth | September 13, 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.56 m (5 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Matautia was selected for the 1991 World Cup.[3] She suffered a hamstring injury in a warm-up match against Saracens which ruled her out of the tournament. She managed to play in their third-place playoff match against France, which New Zealand lost 3–0.[1][2] Matautia played 14 seasons for Wellington, scoring 161 points.
In 1999, she earned her official test cap against Canada. Matautia played her last test match against England in 2001.[4][5] In 2009, she married her husband, Waihi church pastor Benhur Matautia.[1][2]
References
edit- ^ a b c Boyack, Nicholas. "Monday Sport Blast From The Past: Neroli Knight - Neighbourly". www.neighbourly.co.nz. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Julian, Adam (16 July 2020). "A dame of Women's Rugby – Neroli Knight". ClubRugby.nz. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ Pearson, Joseph (29 October 2021). "The trailblazing Black Ferns who were asked to pay to play at the first Rugby World Cup". Stuff. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Turner, Huw (18 May 2001). "NZ Black Ferns prepare for English tests". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ Turner, Huw (23 May 2001). "NZ Black Ferns' squad named for English tests". ESPN.com. Retrieved 26 January 2022.