Hannah King: from West Melton's boys' teams to the Black Ferns' No 10 jersey

Hannah King learned her rugby in boys' teams at West Melton, learned her trade as a halfback, and found her position almost by accident when her Christchurch club had three halfbacks and nobody to play first five. Four years later she was wearing the No 10 jersey for the Black Ferns at Twickenham. Hannah King, a Lincoln University agriculture student who says she will farm when rugby is over, has 21 Tests to her name and was shortlisted for World Rugby's breakthrough award in her first year. This is the story so far.

West Melton

Hannah Cathryn Rose King was born in Christchurch on 13 January 2004 and grew up on a Canterbury dairy farm west of the city. She started rugby at four, filling in on her older brother's team at the West Melton club, and stayed in boys' teams right through to under-13 level. When she reached tackling age she had to choose between netball, where her mother coached, and rugby, where her father coached. She chose rugby, she told Suzanne McFadden of Newsroom, because so many of her friends were there.

She went to Darfield High School and was one of the first members of the Ellesmere Royals, an under-16 girls' side formed for a new Canterbury competition for teenage girls. She was a halfback all the way through.

From nine to ten

Kendra Cocksedge, the World Cup-winning Black Ferns halfback, first watched her as a schoolgirl while working as New Zealand Rugby's women's participation manager in the South Island, and at 16 King came into the Canterbury environment to train with the province. By 2024 the two were meeting every few weeks over a hot chocolate, in a mentorship that had run for years. "I can't thank her enough for what she's done for me," King said.

At 16 she also stepped up into senior women's rugby with the Christchurch Football Club. There she found three halfbacks and no first five, so she gave No 10 a try. "I thought I'd jump in there and give No.10 a crack," she said. The Canterbury coaches, among them former Black Fern and future Black Ferns head coach Whitney Hansen, told her they saw her future there. She has kept a bit of her old job: "I still try to keep my halfback pass going."

Canterbury

King made her Farah Palmer Cup debut for Canterbury in 2022, aged 18, playing for the Lincoln University club. She came off the bench three times in a season Canterbury finished as champions, and she and hooker Atlanta Lolohea shared the Patterson Cup as Canterbury's most promising players of the year. Cocksedge, in her last season, watched the teenager direct the province's senior forwards. "She was literally bossing them around the park," she said. "I knew this kid was a smart football player."

King admits it took time. Her first forward packs at the Christchurch club included hugely experienced Canterbury players, and she had to learn to talk over them. "They get more grumpy if you don't talk," she said. In 2023 she played seven games for Canterbury, three of them at first five, scored 15 points, and in the semi-final had to play the second half at halfback when both specialist halfbacks were injured.

Hurricanes Poua

King had hoped for a contract with Matatū, but the offer came from Hurricanes Poua in Wellington. After talking it through with Cocksedge and her family she moved north for the 2024 season. She became the Poua's 47th player when she made her debut against Chiefs Manawa in the first round and went on to play every match, mostly at first five. The Poua finished last, but the season led to a Black Ferns contract. "I wasn't expecting much game time, but they gave it to me," she said.

Cocksedge's favourite moment from that campaign was a defensive one: King chasing down a Jaymie Kolose kick-through against the Blues, bringing her down and turning the ball over. "She's a very good tackler, even though she's not the biggest player," Cocksedge said.

Black Fern number 260

In April 2024 King was one of five players to receive a first full-time Black Ferns contract. She broke the news to Cocksedge on the way to one of their hot chocolate meetings. "I just about cried," Cocksedge said.

King made her Test debut off the bench against the USA in Hamilton on 11 May 2024 and kicked three conversions in a 57-5 win. Her first start came against Australia at North Harbour Stadium two weeks later, a 67-19 win, and she started again as Australia were beaten 62-0 in Brisbane in July. In September, after a team visit to Buckingham Palace, she started at first five at Twickenham with Ruahei Demant outside her at second five-eighth, a dual-playmaker pairing the Black Ferns had not shown England before. "It's awesome to have a 10 and 12 that can nudge the ball well," said wing Ayesha Leti-I'iga. England won 24-12. In WXV in Canada she started against England in Langley and in the 39-14 win over France in Vancouver.

That first year earned her a place on World Rugby's four-woman shortlist for Women's 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year, with Australia's Caitlyn Halse, England's Maddie Feaunati and Ireland's Erin King, who won it. World Rugby's citation noted 14 points in seven matches.

Matatū and a missed World Cup

In 2025 King came home to Canterbury and to Matatū. She played all seven of their games at first five, scoring 51 points, and started the final against the Blues at Eden Park, where she kicked two conversions in a 26-19 loss.

The Test season was harder. She came off the bench to replace Demant in all three Pacific Four Tests, then was named in the Black Ferns XV, coached by Willie Walker, for two matches against South Africa at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, the first time a New Zealand women's team had played in that country. When the World Cup squad was named in July, veteran Kelly Brazier was recalled as Demant's back-up and King was not included.

A run at ten

The 2026 Aupiki season showed what she could do with the ball in hand and on the tee. In the opening round she kicked six conversions in a 52-26 win over Chiefs Manawa, a Matatū record for a single match. In the third round, against the Blues in Pukekohe, she kicked a penalty and conversions as Matatū went 17-0 up, and with the Blues ahead late on she sliced through for the winning try in the 70th minute and converted it from the sideline. Matatū won 27-21 and went top of the table. She was not in the side when Matatū reached the final, which the Blues won 28-21.

With the Black Ferns under Hansen she played in all 11 Tests of a record season. Off the bench, she scored her first Test try in the 48-15 win over the USA in Sacramento in April. In September, for the first Test on South African soil, Hansen started her at first five and moved Demant to the bench, saying it was a chance for King "to grow her leadership and game-driving abilities." The Black Ferns won 52-20 at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. Demant hurt a calf in that match, and King started the next four as well: wins over France in Lyon and Scotland in Edinburgh, the 19-26 loss to England at Twickenham, and the 81-12 win over France in Hamilton. She finished the season on the bench as Demant returned, and in Christchurch she broke through a gap deep in French territory in the build-up to a try in the 36-7 win.

Style and standing

King describes herself as a director: the first five's main job, she has said, is directing play. New Zealand Rugby and Matatū have pointed to her composure and game management, and Cocksedge to her defence. World Rugby wrote in 2024 that she had "made the Black Ferns' number 10 jersey her own." Hansen has framed her development around game-driving and leadership.

Her record by the end of 2026: 21 Tests, ten starts, one try and 14 conversions for 33 points, with 16 wins, four losses and a draw. Add a World Rugby breakthrough nomination, a Farah Palmer Cup title in her debut season and a Matatū record for conversions in a match.

Off the field

King is studying for a Bachelor of Commerce in agriculture at Lincoln University and has helped with the milking at home during breaks from study. "My two passions are rugby and agriculture," she told Newsroom. "After rugby, I see myself farming for sure."

What is next

The Black Ferns meet the Wallaroos at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Anzac Day 2027 and then host the British and Irish Lions Women in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in September 2027. The next World Cup, in Australia, follows in 2029.

Career at a glance

Test figures are from New Zealand Rugby's records (stats.allblacks.com). World Rugby's team lists also include a Test against Canada in May 2024 for which she was named on the bench; New Zealand Rugby and World Rugby's 2024 awards citation do not count it as a cap. Provincial, Poua, Matatū 2025 and Black Ferns XV figures are from rugbyhistory.co.nz.