Aleisha-Pearl Nelson

ALEISHA-PEARL NELSON is now a vastly experienced tighthead prop at both provincial and international level.

She debuted for her country in 2012 on the tour of England and has now racked up 35 Test caps (and two tries) with her powerful scrummaging and technically adroit work in the rucks and mauls. She appeared in six Tests in 2017, starting against Canada in New Zealand and Hong Kong at the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

She added impact off the bench in the dramatic victory over England in the final. Just weeks later, Nelson brought up her 50th game for the Auckland Storm.

She has come a long way from the raw teenager who entered first-class rugby in 2008 for the Storm. She knows her way to the tryline too, chalking up 13 tries for the Storm. The College Rifles club bookend now has 75 provincial caps to her credit, and was omnipresent in the Storm’s 2020 Farah Palmer Cup campaign.

As of the start of the 2020 Black Ferns’ programme, just eight players had appeared in more than her 110 first-class matches.

Away from rugby, Northland born and bred Nelson is a registered nurse and has a deep love of animals, especially horses.

IWI: Ngātiwai, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine