Former New Zealand rugby captain Zinzan Brooke was a plumber before he turned to playing his sport full-time. The number 8, reckoned by many experts to be one of the all-time greats, played 82 times for the All Blacks, scoring 190 points in the process and captained his country on many occasions. Zinzan was born on the 14th of June, 1965 in Ahuroa. He went to Mahurangi College and he lived on a farm. He first began playing rugby for the Puhoi club where his father was the coach and his mother was the manager. He went on to play for Auckland before starring for the All Blacks.