Luka Connor

Luka Connor (born 24 September 1996) is a New Zealand rugby union player. She was part of the Black Ferns 2021 Rugby World Cup squad that won their sixth title. She plays for Chiefs Manawa in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition; she also plays for the Bay of Plenty Volcanix in the Farah Palmer Cup and club rugby for Rangataua.

Luka Connor
Date of birth (1996-09-24) 24 September 1996
Place of birthŌpōtiki, New Zealand
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight95 kg (209 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–Present Bay of Plenty Volcanix 37 (75)
Super Rugby
Years Team Apps (Points)
2021–Present Chiefs Manawa 2 (25)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2019–Present  New Zealand 8 (5)
Medal record
Representing  New Zealand
Women's rugby union
Rugby World Cup
Gold medal – first place2021 New ZealandTeam competition

Biography

Connor is from the Te Whakatōhea, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Porou iwi. She was attending Ōpōtiki College when she made her debut for the Bay of Plenty Volcanix in 2014.

2017

In 2017, She suffered a serious knee injury and missed the entire provincial season of 2018.[1]

2019

Connor was one of 29 players who were offered Black Ferns contracts in 2019.[2][1]

On 28 June 2019, Connor made her test debut for the Black Ferns, she came off the bench against Canada in San Diego.[3] She was named in the Black Ferns squad for the 2019 Laurie O'Reilly Cup and featured in the second test match against Australia.[4][5] She later featured for the New Zealand Development XV at the 2019 Oceania Women's Championship in Fiji.[6]

2020–2021

In 2020 she appeared for the Black Ferns in two matches against the New Zealand Barbarians.[7][8]

In 2021 Connor was named in the Chiefs squad for their historic match against the Blues at Eden Park in April.[9][10] Later that year she was selected in the Chiefs Manawa team for the inaugural season of Super Rugby Aupiki.[11][12]

2022

Connor was selected for the Black Ferns squad for the 2022 Pacific Four Series.[13] She made the team again for a two-test series against the Wallaroos for the Laurie O'Reilly Cup.[14][15]

Connor made the Black Ferns 32-player squad to the deferred 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.[16][17] She scored two tries against Wales in the quarterfinals.[18][19]

2023

Connor scored a hat-trick for Chiefs Manawa against Hurricanes Poua in the opening round of the 2023 Super Rugby Aupiki season.[20][21] She crossed over for the first try from a lineout drive in her sides second round victory over the Blues Women.[22][23] In round three, she scored her sides second try in their 46–38 win against Matatū in Hamilton.[24][25]

In July, she scored a try in the Black Ferns 21–52 victory over Canada at the Pacific Four Series in Ottawa.[26][27]

References
  1. Macfarlane, Kristin (2 March 2019). "Women's Rugby: Bay born and bred Luka Connor's dream of wearing Black Ferns jersey moves closer with 2019 contract". NZ Herald. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  2. "Black Ferns 2019 contracted squad named". allblacks.com. 25 February 2019. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  3. "Luka Connor #207". stats.allblacks.com. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  4. "Black Ferns make three changes". Māori Television. 15 August 2019. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  5. "Buildcorp Wallaroos fall at Eden Park". australia.rugby. 17 August 2019. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  6. "Black Ferns Development XV named for Oceania Championship". allblacks.com. 22 October 2019. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  7. "Six debutants named in Black Ferns side to take on New Zealand Barbarians". www.rugbypass.com. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  8. Powell, Jennie (12 November 2020). "Teams named for Black Ferns v NZ Barbarians". 4 The Love Of Sport. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  9. "Key match-ups to watch: Blues v Chiefs women". superrugby.co.nz. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  10. "Chiefs women's side named for historic Super Rugby match". NZ Sports Wire. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  11. "Waitomo Chiefs Manawa 2022 Squad". Chiefs. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  12. "Inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki squads announced". superrugby.co.nz. 4 November 2021. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  13. "31-strong Black Ferns squad named for home June Test series". allblacks.com. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  14. "Black Ferns named for O'Reilly Cup Test series". allblacks.com. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  15. 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.
  16. "Black Ferns squad locked in for Rugby World Cup". allblacks.com. 13 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  17. "Black Ferns Rugby World Cup squad named". RNZ. 13 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  18. Burnes, Campbell (29 October 2022). "Black Ferns storm into the final four". allblacks.com. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  19. "New Zealand 55-3 Wales: Black Ferns knock Wales out of Rugby World Cup at quarter-final stage". Sky Sports. 29 October 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  20. Pearson, Joseph (25 February 2023). "Luka Connor scores hat-trick as Chiefs Manawa power to huge win over Hurricanes Poua". Stuff. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  21. "Luka Connor's hat-trick spearheads big Chiefs Manawa win". 1 News. 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  22. Burnes, Campbell (4 March 2023). "Chiefs Manawa take 12-Try Bonanza". superrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  23. "Chiefs Manawa score seven tries to see off Blues". RNZ. 4 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  24. Burnes, Campbell (11 March 2023). "Chiefs Manawa top qualifiers into Super Rugby Aupiki Semis". superrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  25. Pearson, Joseph (11 March 2023). "Chiefs Manawa secure top spot in Super Rugby Aupiki with another win over Matatū". Stuff. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  26. "Black Ferns fly past Canada in front of record crowd in Ottawa". Americas Rugby News. 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  27. Burnes, Campbell (9 July 2023). "Black Ferns secure WXV1 qualification with Ottawa victory". allblacks.com. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
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