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Tumble Rugby Club in association with JDJ Exhibitions Present

AN EVENING WITH ZINZAN BROOKE WITH SPECIAL GUEST PHIL STEELE

‘Spend an evening with the legendary All Black’

Saturday, 15^th October 2016

7.00pm for 7.30pm

Tickets £40 per person

Includes: Meal, Heads & Tails, Quiz and Raffle

Contact: Phil Hewitt on 07767 801186

Profiles:

Zinzan Brooke (born 14 February 1965) is a legendary former New Zealand rugby union number eight. He has two other brothers who also played rugby at representative level: Marty, who played for Auckland and Southland; and Robin, who played lock for Auckland and New Zealand. He is regarded as one of the best rugby players of all time.

Brooke played 58 tests for New Zealand, and 42 non-international matches for the All Blacks, captained Auckland Blues to Super 12 championships in 1996 and 1997 and was an influential figure in Auckland's dominance in the National Provincial Championship during the late 1980s and 1990s. He scored 17 tries in Test matches, then a world record for a forward. He also played for New Zealand Māori.

Brooke was a founding player of the Southerners Sports Club (Bangkok), playing in the inaugural side in 1994 against Taradale RFC. In 1995 he published his autobiography Zinny: The Zinzan Brooke story, written with Alex Veysey.

Brooke is considered one of the best number eights to have ever played for the All Blacks. He had the running and kicking skills of a backline player which made him extremely mobile and agile as a forward. He once kicked a 48-metre drop goal during a 1995 Rugby World Cup match, one of three he scored in Test matches.

Brooke scored his third drop goal during the All Blacks' impressive 42–7 win against Wales at Wembley Stadium on 29 November 1997, giving him the rare distinction of being the only rugby player to have "scored a goal at Wembley". He also set up a try for Christian Cullen.

In 2007, former England centre and captain Will Carling published his list of the '50 Greatest Rugby players' in The Daily Telegraph, and ranked Brooke the ninth greatest player of all time, stating:

"For a forward his skills were outrageous. As comfortable playing sevens as 15s, he had better kicking and handling skills than some fly-halves playing international rugby. You align that with his strength and ability as a forward to read the game – he was unique".

In 1997 he retired from international rugby union and moved to England to play for Harlequins, and later coach it. During the 2002/03 season he played for Coventry in National Division One. He now plays amateur rugby union for Windsor Rugby Club in Berkshire, England.

In 2011, while back in New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Brooke was inducted into the TVNZ This Is Your Life wall of fame. His family joined him from England at the Auckland Viaduct for the live show. Special guests included his four brothers, Buck Shelford and Michael Jones.

Phil Steele is one of Wales' most popular after dinner speakers. His strong sporting background as a former top class welsh rugby player with Newport RFC in the 1980's together with his role as a mirthful radio presenter and sports commentator for BBC Wales radio and television have enabled him to develop a wide variety of material. Phil's twenty-five years’ experience as a teacher - mostly spent teaching pupils with learning difficulties in The Rhymney Valley of South Wales has also provided him with a rich fund of humour. Over the years Phil has performed for a huge variety of organisations and has spoken at many varied functions and venues throughout Britain and abroad including The House Of Lords, Saint David's Hall, The Cardiff International Arena, The Grosvenor House Hotel, The DubaiWelsh Society St. David's Day Dinner (twice) and the Qatar Welsh Society Dinner. Best known to rugby fans as the pitch side reporter for Scrum V Live his hard hitting journalistic endeavours have included interviewing Miss Carmarthenshire live at Parc y Scarlets – in a hot tub!