Lavinia Gould

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Lavinia Gould is a New Zealand rugby player who has competed in both rugby league and rugby union, and has represented New Zealand in sevens.

She was born on 15 March 1983 in Whakatāne, New Zealand. She is 162 cm tall and weighs about 66 kg. Gould first gained recognition in rugby sevens and was part of New Zealand’s first official women’s sevens team, competing at the 2000 Hong Kong Sevens when she was 17 years old. In 2013, she faced a two-year suspension after testing positive for a banned substance following the 2012 Dubai Sevens. She returned to play for New Zealand in the 2014–15 World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series.

In rugby union, Gould played for Bay of Plenty and Wellington before joining the Queensland Reds in Super W from 2018 to 2019.

In rugby league, Gould signed with the Brisbane Broncos in 2018 for the NRL Women’s Premiership. She made her league debut in September 2018 and scored a try in the Broncos’ Grand Final win that year. She was named in New Zealand’s squad for a Test against Australia in 2018 but did not play. In 2019 she also played for Wests Panthers in the QRL Women’s Premiership and started at hooker, scoring a try in the Broncos’ Grand Final victory over the Dragons. She was named in New Zealand’s Test squad again in 2019 but withdrew for personal reasons.

In 2020 Gould played the first two NRLW games for the Broncos but suffered a leg injury in Round 2, keeping her out for the season and the team’s Grand Final win. In 2023, Gould took leave from the Broncos to support her daughter, who suffered complications during heart surgery and was placed in a medically induced coma.