- Matt Berquist
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Mathew Berquist Date of birth 11 May 1983 Place of birth Waipukurau, New Zealand Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) Weight 88 kg (13 st 12 lb) University University of Otago Occupation(s) Rugby player Rugby union career Playing career Position First five-eighth Professional / senior clubs Years Club / team Caps (points) 2011– Leinster 0 0 Provincial/State sides Years Club / team Caps (points) 2003–2004
2005–2009
2010–Otago
Hawke's Bay
Auckland11
40
10(82)
(392)
(109)Super Rugby Years Club / team Caps (points) 2009–2010
2011Highlanders
Crusaders18
11(76)
(70)Matt Berquist (born 11 May 1983 in Waipukurau, New Zealand) is a rugby union player who plays at fly-half for Leinster Rugby in the Rabo Direct Pro12 and the Heineken Cup.
Contents
Playing career
Provincial Rugby
Berquist attended the University of Otago and represented Otago in 2003 and 2004.
In 2005, he transferred to Hawke's Bay where he would blossom as a player, helping the Magpies turnaround from perennial struggles to Air New Zealand Cup semi-finalists in 2008 and 2009. During this time, Berquist earned a reputation as one of the best goal-kickers in the competition, finishing as the Cup's leading scorer in 2009.
For the 2010 ITM Cup, Berquist transferred to Auckland. He again topped 100 points in the competition, including finally scoring his first provincial try in his 8th season in the competition.
Super Rugby
Berquist was initially a member of the Highlanders in 2004 while still playing for Otago, but he failed to see action in a single game.
Berquist's strong performances for Hawke's Bay earned him a Super 14 contract with the Highlanders for the 2009 season. After starting the season as a bench player, he started 6 of the final 7 matches of the season at his preferred position of fly-half. He shared goal-kicking duties with Daniel Bowden and finished the season with 49 points, including his first try in Super Rugby.
For 2010, Berquist faced increased competition for the starting fly-half position with the Highlanders from Michael Hobbs and Robbie Robinson, although he still managed to match his 2009 total with 6 starts. His goal-kicking opportunities decreased from 2009 due to the emergence of Israel Dagg as one of the top goal-kickers in Super 14.
In 2011, Berquist was back up for Dan Carter at the Crusaders.
European Rugby
Berquist signed for Leinster Rugby in the summer of 2011 to start playing in the 2011/12 season. He will play back up to Jonathan Sexton but should see a lot of game time for Leinster during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
References
Leinster Rugby squad Forwards Backs E.Reddan · I.Boss · M.Berquist · I.Madigan · J.Sexton · G.D'Arcy · F.McFadden · B.O'Driscoll · E.O'Malley · B.Macken · L.Fitzgerald · D.Kearney · S.Horgan · A.Conway · F.Carr · R.Kearney · I.NacewaCoach (Head/Backs Coach) Joe Schmidt. (Forwards Coach) Jono Gibbes. (Scrum Coach) Greg Feek. (Team Manager) Guy Easterby. (Kicking Coach) Richie Murphy.Categories:- Living people
- 1983 births
- New Zealand rugby union players
- University of Otago alumni
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