Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Michaela Blyde
Michaela Brake (née Blyde; born 29 December 1995) is a New Zealand professional rugby sevens player and a double Olympic gold medalist. She was the first female player to win back-to-back World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year titles, in 2017 and 2018. Blyde holds the record for the most tries by a New Zealand women sevens player in a single match (six against Sri Lanka at the 2022 Commonwealth Games) and also the record for most tries in a single fixture when she scored five tries against England in Langford in 2017. Blyde has won gold medals at the 2018 Sevens World Cup, 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 2024 Paris Olympics, and six Sevens titles. In January 2025, Blyde became the second woman to score 250 tries in the HSBC international sevens competition. She is currently the series' leading all-time women’s try scorer and the series' all-time women's second highest points scorer.
Blyde was born on 29 December 1995 in New Plymouth to Cherry (née Sutton) and Stephen Blyde. Her father, Stephen, played halfback for local club Clifton and provincial rugby for the Taranaki Colts while her mother Cherry played representative rugby for Taranaki, played for the Black Ferns in 1992 and in 2022 became the first female president of the Taranaki rugby football union. Both parents also represented New Zealand at touch rugby.
Blyde was raised up on the family's dairy farm at Lepperton, and was educated at New Plymouth Girls' High School. From 2009 to 2013, she competed in athletics in the 100 metres, 200 metres and long jump. In 2009 and 2010, she participated in the 100 and 200 metres at New Zealand Secondary Schools' Championships.
Blyde's younger brothers, Liam and Cole were academy rugby players with Taranaki. Liam went on to be selected for a development project for the men's Sevens team before playing for the Taranaki Bulls in 2021.
In 2014, Blyde commenced a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise degree through correspondence at Massey University. In 2017, she studied for a Certificate in Animal Care at Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin.
When she was young her parents encouraged her and her brothers to play for their local rugby club, Clifton. "Rugby was my first sport as a five-year-old, but when I got to the age where we had to start tackling, I was a bit scared of playing with the boys" and so she switched at the age of eight to playing football. She began playing it again in year 12 at high school, though football was her first priority.
In 2012 the New Zealand Rugby Union organised a "Go for Gold" campaign to identify talent with the potential to represent New Zealand in the Sevens competition at the Rio Olympics. Cherie Blyde who was employed at the time by Taranaki Rugby as a Rugby Development Officer made her daughter who had just recommenced playing rugby, attend one of the open trials.
At the trial she was put through various fitness, rugby skill and character assessment activities. Blyde was heavily involved in playing football at the time and was upset when attendance at a second trial meant missing out on a football tournament. Of the 800 who attended a trial, Blyde along with Gayle Broughton and Lauren Bayens from Taranaki were among the 30 deemed promising who attended a training camp at Waiouru in mid-2012.
Hub AI
Michaela Blyde AI simulator
(@Michaela Blyde_simulator)
Michaela Blyde
Michaela Brake (née Blyde; born 29 December 1995) is a New Zealand professional rugby sevens player and a double Olympic gold medalist. She was the first female player to win back-to-back World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year titles, in 2017 and 2018. Blyde holds the record for the most tries by a New Zealand women sevens player in a single match (six against Sri Lanka at the 2022 Commonwealth Games) and also the record for most tries in a single fixture when she scored five tries against England in Langford in 2017. Blyde has won gold medals at the 2018 Sevens World Cup, 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 2024 Paris Olympics, and six Sevens titles. In January 2025, Blyde became the second woman to score 250 tries in the HSBC international sevens competition. She is currently the series' leading all-time women’s try scorer and the series' all-time women's second highest points scorer.
Blyde was born on 29 December 1995 in New Plymouth to Cherry (née Sutton) and Stephen Blyde. Her father, Stephen, played halfback for local club Clifton and provincial rugby for the Taranaki Colts while her mother Cherry played representative rugby for Taranaki, played for the Black Ferns in 1992 and in 2022 became the first female president of the Taranaki rugby football union. Both parents also represented New Zealand at touch rugby.
Blyde was raised up on the family's dairy farm at Lepperton, and was educated at New Plymouth Girls' High School. From 2009 to 2013, she competed in athletics in the 100 metres, 200 metres and long jump. In 2009 and 2010, she participated in the 100 and 200 metres at New Zealand Secondary Schools' Championships.
Blyde's younger brothers, Liam and Cole were academy rugby players with Taranaki. Liam went on to be selected for a development project for the men's Sevens team before playing for the Taranaki Bulls in 2021.
In 2014, Blyde commenced a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise degree through correspondence at Massey University. In 2017, she studied for a Certificate in Animal Care at Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin.
When she was young her parents encouraged her and her brothers to play for their local rugby club, Clifton. "Rugby was my first sport as a five-year-old, but when I got to the age where we had to start tackling, I was a bit scared of playing with the boys" and so she switched at the age of eight to playing football. She began playing it again in year 12 at high school, though football was her first priority.
In 2012 the New Zealand Rugby Union organised a "Go for Gold" campaign to identify talent with the potential to represent New Zealand in the Sevens competition at the Rio Olympics. Cherie Blyde who was employed at the time by Taranaki Rugby as a Rugby Development Officer made her daughter who had just recommenced playing rugby, attend one of the open trials.
At the trial she was put through various fitness, rugby skill and character assessment activities. Blyde was heavily involved in playing football at the time and was upset when attendance at a second trial meant missing out on a football tournament. Of the 800 who attended a trial, Blyde along with Gayle Broughton and Lauren Bayens from Taranaki were among the 30 deemed promising who attended a training camp at Waiouru in mid-2012.