Gary John Braid (born 25 July 1960) is a New Zealand former

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

er who represented his country in

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

. His two sons,

Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...

and

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

, both play rugby union

Rugby union career

Braid attended

Otumoetai College Otumoetai College is a state co-educational secondary school located in Tauranga, New Zealand. The school opened in February 1965 with 206 students from years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18) to serve the western suburbs of Tauranga. ''Otumoetai'' is cla ...

where he played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

before taking up

and making the first XV in his last year at high school. Braid made his debut for Bay of Plenty in 1981 as a flanker before moving to lock. Braid made the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

in 1983 and played in eleven games including in two test matches. He was loaned to North Harbor in 1986. Braid was made captain of the Bay of Plenty in 1991.

Rugby league career

Braid switched codes to

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

in 1992, joining the

Ngongotaha Chiefs The Ngongotaha Chiefs are a New Zealand rugby league club. They are from Ngongotahā in the Bay of Plenty. In 2000 and 2001 they competed in the Bartercard Cup but now they compete in the Bay of Plenty Rugby League competition. Notable players ...

in the Bay of Plenty Rugby League competition.Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1992 ''New Zealand Rugby League'', 1992. p.p.155-159Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1996 ''New Zealand Rugby League'', 1996. p.p.53

Later years

Braid currently owns the "Kingslander" pub in

Kingsland, New Zealand Kingsland is an inner-city suburb of Auckland, the largest and most populous urban area in New Zealand. Kingsland is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. It is the home of Eden Park, New Zealand's largest stadium, which hosted the ...

.Pub fails to sell despite World Cup incentive
''stuff.co.nz'', 2 November 2011 He coached

Auckland University RFC Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

in the Auckland Premier competition in 2002-2003. In 2018/2019 season he joined Rugby Club Ljubljana (Slovenia) as a head coach of their senior side.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braid, Gary Living people New Zealand rugby league players 1960 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Bay of Plenty rugby union players North Harbour rugby union players Ngongotaha Chiefs players People educated at Otumoetai College Rugby league second-rows Rugby union locks