Gayle Broughton

Gayle Broughton (born 5 June 1996) is a New Zealand rugby league player, who plays at for New Zealand Warriors in the NRLW.

She began her NRLW career at the Parramatta Eels in June 2022, where she played one season prior to joining the Brisbane Broncos in 2023.

She formerly played rugby union sevens for the New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team, making her international debut for New Zealand in 2014. She called time on her rugby union career in March 2022, having amassed 315 points in 112 World Series matches. and has won every trophy on offer in the sevens game. Her accomplishments include six World Rugby Sevens series titles, Olympic Games gold and silver medals, Commonwealth Games gold and winning the Rugby World Cup Sevens.

Early life Gayle Broughton was born in Hāwera, New Zealand, on 5 June 1996

A naturally talented sportswoman with six brothers, Broughton was raised by her Broughton grandparents but had a troubled childhood, which led to her being expelled from high school at the age of 16.

Rugby union career In 2012, the New Zealand Rugby Union organized a "Go for Gold" campaign to identify talent with the potential to represent New Zealand in the sevens competition at the Rio Olympics. A promise of $10 Later in the year, she was part of the team who won the World Cup in Moscow. She was part of the New Zealand's women's sevens squad that qualified for the Rio Olympics when they won the 2014–15 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series.

2016 Rio Olympic Games Broughton ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at the São Paulo Sevens tournament in February 2016 and opted for a non-surgical treatment that allowed her to play without ligaments in the affected knee. She pledged to give her medal to her grandmother if the team won gold. The team scored 109 points and conceded 12 in pool play, before beating USA in the quarter-finals and Great Britain in the semi-finals, before losing 24–17 to Australia in the final. The loss hit the squad hard.

2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Broughton was selected for the New Zealand Sevens team to complete at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. In the semi-final, the Black Ferns Sevens faced a much-improved Fiji, who up until that time had never beaten New Zealand. With the score 17-all at full-time, the game was forced into extra time, during which Broughton who had been bought back onto the field to replace Brazier, scored the winning try.

In early March 2022, Broughton announced that after nine years she was retiring from rugby to migrate to Australia with her family.

At the end of the 2022 season, Broughton was voted by the NRLW players as their Rookie of the Year in the Rugby League Players Association awards.

New Zealand Warriors Women On 5 October 2025 it was reported that she had signed for New Zealand Warriors in the NRL Women's Premiership on a 2-year deal.

Awards and honours 2021, Joint winner of Taranaki Daily News Person of the Year 2021 with Michaela Blyde.

Personal life Of Māori descent, Broughton affiliates to the Ngāruahine and Ngāti Ruanui iwi. She is openly lesbian.