Braxton Sorensen-McGee (Ngātiwai), who whakapapas to Aotea through grandfather Robert McGee, has capped her breakout year by collecting two major honours at the New Zealand Rugby Awards, shortly after being named World Rugby’s Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year.
The 19-year-old was awarded both Black Ferns Player of the Year and New Zealand Age Grade Player of the Year, a rare double for a first-season international. The recognition follows a year in which she emerged as one of the standout players in the women’s game, rising quickly through Auckland and Blues rugby before establishing herself in the Black Ferns.
Her Rugby World Cup performances were central to her surge, finishing as the top points-scorer of the tournament and delivering several match-defining moments across pool and knockout play. Those displays, combined with her domestic form, placed her at the centre of New Zealand Rugby’s end-of-season honours.
Sorensen-McGee’s ascent adds a second name with Aotea ties to the upper ranks of New Zealand women’s rugby. Former Black Fern Eloise Blackwell, who grew up on Great Barrier Island, captained the national side and remains one of its most recognisable figures of the past decade.
With three major awards in her debut year, Sorensen-McGee has established herself as a key part of the Black Ferns’ future and a new source of pride for her whānau and the island community.
