Kate Henwood (born 28 January 1989) is a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player. She plays for the

Chiefs Manawa The Chiefs Manawa are a New Zealand women's professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand, that competes in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. Chiefs Manawa won the inaugural season of the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. They w ...

in the

Super Rugby Aupiki Super Rugby Aupiki is a professional women's rugby union club competition in New Zealand. Its inaugural season was held in March 2022. It is a stepping stone between the Farah Palmer Cup and the Black Ferns. Aupiki translates as ‘''the asce ...

competition.

Personal life

Henwood worked as a management accountant at Control Tech Ltd, an electrical engineering company, in

Whakatāne Whakatāne ( , ) is a town located in the Bay of Plenty Region, Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and northeast of Rotorua. The town is situated at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. The Whakatāne Dis ...

before she was offered a full-time contract in 2023. Her brother,

Sam Henwood Samuel Tamihana Henwood (born 28 March 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He is nephew of Brian Brown, notable figure in the underbelly of the far north of NZ. He currently plays for the in Super Rugby and in New Zealand's domestic Mi ...

, previously played for the Chiefs,

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

, and the

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing is ...

Rugby career

Henwood returned to top level rugby in 2022 for the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

in the

Farah Palmer Cup The Farah Palmer Cup (formerly known as Women's Provincial Championship until 2016), is the highest level domestic women's rugby union competition in New Zealand and is named after the former Black Ferns captain, Farah Palmer. It is held annual ...

after several seasons away from the game. She was called in as an injury replacement for the

for the

2023 Super Rugby Aupiki season The 2023 Super Rugby Aupiki season was the second season of Super Rugby Aupiki (known as Sky Super Rugby Aupiki for sponsorship reasons), a professional women's rugby union club competition organised by New Zealand Rugby. The competition ran from ...

. Henwood was named in the

Black Ferns The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns (), represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tour ...

30-player squad to compete in the

Pacific Four Series The Pacific Four Series is an international rugby union competition that is sanctioned by World Rugby. It is contested between four women's national teams — Australia women's national rugby union team, Australia, Canada women's national rugby u ...

and O’Reilly Cup. She was named in the starting line up for her international debut against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

on 29 June 2023 at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. In July, she featured in her sides 21–52 victory over

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henwood, Kate 1989 births Living people New Zealand female rugby union players New Zealand women's international rugby union players Rugby union players from Whakatāne 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen