Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly (born 6 August 1996) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL Women's Premiership.
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 6 August 1996 Rotorua, New Zealand[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 164 cm (5 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 69 kg (10 st 12 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Five-eighth, Fullback, Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [2] As of 22 August 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A five-eighth, fullback and wing, she previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the NRLW and for Hurricanes Poua in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition.
Background edit
Born in Rotorua, New Zealand, Stephens-Daly is of Māori descent.[3]
Playing career edit
Early years edit
Stephens-Daly started her career playing rugby sevens and rugby union.[4] In 2014, she played for the Waikite rugby union team.[5] She represented the Bay of Plenty Volcanix side from 2015 to 2019, only missing 2018.[6][7] In November 2018, she was named in the New Zealand Maori Ferns train-on squad.[8] In 2019, she played for the Whakarewarewa rugby union side.[9] In 2020, she played for the Upper Central Stallions in the inaugural NZRL National Women's Championship.[4][10] In November 2020, she represented the Kiwi Ferns against the Fetū Samoa invitational side, scoring two tries in the Kiwi Fern's 28-8 victory.[11] In December 2020, she won the Kiwi Ferns Rookie of the Year award.[12] In December 2021, she signed with the Newcastle Knights to be a part of their inaugural NRLW squad.[13]
2022 edit
In February, Stephens-Daly played for the Māori All Stars against the Indigenous All Stars,[14] scoring the team's only points with two tries in their 8-18 loss.[15] In round 1 of the delayed 2021 NRL Women's season, she made her NRLW debut for the Knights against the Parramatta Eels.[16]
In October, she was selected for the New Zealand squad at the delayed 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup in England.[17]
2023 edit
In March, Stephens-Daly signed played for the Hurricanes Poua in the Super Rugby Aupiki. She was one of three final signings confirmed for the side in December 2022.[18]
On 17 May, Stephens-Daly returned to rugby league, signing a two-year contract with the North Queensland Cowboys.[19]
In Round 3 of the 2023 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Cowboys in their 40–12 loss to the Brisbane Broncos.[20] In Round 5, she tore her ACL in a loss to the Cronulla Sharks, ruling her out for the season.[21]
References edit
- ^ "Rookie watch: Remember the name Autumn-Rain". National Rugby League. 19 January 2022.
- ^ "Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
- ^ "Autumn-Rain Stephens hits back for the Maori All Stars". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ a b "Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly".
- ^ "Rugby: Is this the best try celebration ever?". NZ Herald.
- ^ "The rise of the BOP Volcanix continues". NZ Herald.
- ^ "Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly | New Zealand Rugby History". www.rugbyhistory.co.nz.
- ^ "All Stars ideal Indigenous pathway for Young and youngsters". National Rugby League. 6 November 2018.
- ^ "Whakarewarewa too good for Mount Maunganui". NZ Herald.
- ^ "Upper Central Zone Rugby League - Congratulations to the following players named for the Upper Central Stallions team playing in the 2020 North Island Championship. | Facebook". www.facebook.com.
- ^ "Rookie leads Kiwi Ferns to win over Samoa". National Rugby League. 7 November 2020.
- ^ League, Asia Pacific Rugby (16 December 2020). "Fisher-Harris and Rota 2020 New Zealand Rugby League Players of the Year".
- ^ "Knights finalise NRLW squad with signings of Queensland-based players". Newcastle Knights. 3 December 2021.
- ^ "Maori v Indigenous All Stars: Both sides 1-18 with no late changes". National Rugby League. 12 February 2022.
- ^ "Maori Women's v Indigenous Women's". National Rugby League.
- ^ "Late mail: 1-17 confirmed for opening NRLW game". Newcastle Knights. 27 February 2022.
- ^ Priest, Craig (2 October 2022). "Kiwi Ferns name 24-strong World Cup squad". New Zealand Rugby League. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ "Hurricanes Poua lure NRLW champion Kiwi Fern home for Super Rugby Aupiki". Stuff. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys sign Kiwi Ferns star Stephens-Daly". NQ Cowboys. 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Broncos bag first win as Mele mauls Cowboys". NRL.com. 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys NRLW team list: Round 6 v Eels". NQ Cowboys. 22 August 2023.