Grace Brooker has been busy getting ready for her Black Ferns debut off the bench on Saturday as they take on the Wallaroos from Eden Park.
It's an appearance she's been dreaming about since she was a little girl, and it will soon turn into a reality.
"I have imagined that moment for 16 years, ever since I started playing when I was four, so I've imagined that moment pretty much every day of my life," she told Newshub.
She will be sharing that moment with those closest to her, she was brought up around rugby in Oxford, an hour out of Christchurch.
"Lots of conversations [were] happening when the rugby was on TV, what happens there? What happened with this?" she told Newshub.
Those family conversations paid off. Coach Glenn Moore thinks she has as good a knowledge of the game as anyone. Her captain Lis Elder agrees.
"Grace does the basics well, she understands the game really well, and that girl is constantly doing her homework."
"Grandma came up to me the other day and said 'I remember when you were a little four-year-old and you came up to me and said I'm gonna be an All Black'," Brooker said.
Saturday night will be the 20-year-old's chance to put 16 years of homework into practice.
Newshub.
"Lots of conversations [were] happening when the rugby was on TV, what happens there? what happened with this?" she told Newshub.
Those family conversations paid off, coach Glenn Moore thinks she has as good a knowledge of the game as anyone.
Her captain Lis Elder agrees.
"Grace does the basics well, she understands the game really well, and that girl is constantly doing her homework," Elder said.
"Grandma came up to me the other day and said 'I remember when you were a little four-year-old and you came up to me and said I'm gonna be an All Black'," Brooker said.
Saturday night will be the 20-year-olds chance to put 16 years of homework into practice.
Black Ferns: 1-Toka Natua, 2-Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate, 3-Aleisha-Pearl Nelson, 4-Eloise Blackwell, 5-Charmaine Smith, 6-Pia Tapsell, 7- Les Elder (captain), 8-Charmaine McMenamin, 9-Kendra Cocksedge, 10-Ruahei Demant, 11-Ayesha Leti-l'iga, 12-Chelsea Alley, 13-Carla Hohepa, 14-Renee Wickliffe, 15-Selica Winiata
Reserves: 16-Luka Connor, 17-Leilani Perese, 18-Olivia Ward-Duin, 19-Jackie Patea-Fereti, 20-Kennedy Simon/Joanah Ngan-Woo, 21-Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu, 22-Krysten Cottrell, 23-Grace Brooker
Newshub.
Join us for live updates of Black Ferns v Wallaroos from 5pm Saturday
