Stacey Waaka

Stacey Waaka currently plays as a centre for the Black Ferns Sevens and the New Zealand women's national rugby team. Quick, powerful and evasive, she excels on the pitch and has been described by the All Blacks as a 'natural athlete'.

Born on 3 November 1995, Waaka shares the sporting limelight with her brother, Beaudein Waaka. The two siblings made their New Zealand debuts in 2015, with Stacey playing for the Black Ferns and Beaudein featuring for the New Zealand Sevens.

In 2016, Waaka made her first appearance for the women's sevens squad. One year later, she celebrated two major achievements: graduating from the University of Waikato and winning the 2017 Rugby World Cup.

Waaka went on to further success. She was the top try scorer at the 2019-20 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series and she took home a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Fast forward to 2022 and Waaka added two more medals to her trophy cabinet: she won a bronze at the Commonwealth Games and silver at the Rugby World Cup Sevens. She also represented the Black Ferns in the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup. Here she scored two tries during the knockout stages: the first in their semi-final win against France and the second in their victorious final against England. 

More recently, Waaka returned to rugby sevens. She travelled to the United States and signed to the New York Locals, a Premier Rugby Sevens (PR7) team. After captaining the side to second place at the 2023 Championships, Waaka flew back to New Zealand. She rejoined the New Zealand Women’s Rugby Sevens team and was selected for the 2024 Paris Olympics squad. Here, she won gold. 

In addition to her prowess as a rugby player, Waaka has also played a variety of other sports. She has successfully competed in netball, athletics and hockey, and represented her country in touch rugby. However, her talent shines in rugby sevens. 

With a host of trophies, medals and awards under her belt, we're excited to see how the rest of Stacey Waaka's career unfolds.