Matt Berquist

Mathew Berquist

Date of birth	11 May 1983 (1983-05-11) (age 28)
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 Auckland	11 40 10	(82) (392) (109)
Super Rugby
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2009–2010 2011	Highlanders Crusaders	18 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.

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 Profile

Persondata
Name	Berquist, Matt
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	11 May 1983
Place of birth	Waipukurau, New Zealand
Date of death
Place of death