Legendary New Zealander Zinzan Brooke will be in west Cumbria this weekend to present the awards at Egremont Rugby Union club.

The 52-year-old former number eight, who is regarded as one of the best rugby players of all time, played 58 Tests for New Zealand and 42 non-international matches for the All Blacks.

He captained Auckland Blues to Super 12 championships in 1996 and 1997 and was an influential figure in Auckland’s dominance in the National Provincial Championship during the late 1980s and 1990s.

He scored 17 tries in Test matches, then a world record for a forward. He also played for New Zealand Maori.

He is considered one of the best number eights to have ever played for the All Blacks with the running and kicking skills of a backline player which made him extremely mobile and agile as a forward.

He once landed a 48-metre drop goal during a 1995 Rugby World Cup match, one of three he scored in Test matches.

Former England centre and captain Will Carling said of him: “For a forward, his skills were outrageous.

"As comfortable playing sevens as 15s, he had better kicking and handling skills than some fly-halves playing international rugby. You align that with his strength and ability as a forward to read the game – he was unique”.

In 1997, he retired from international rugby union and moved to England to play for Harlequins, and later coached at the club. During the 2002/03 season, he played for Coventry in National Division One.

More recently, he has been playing as an amateur with the Windsor club.

Egremont had played their third match in eight days on Saturday when they lost 47-15 in what proved to be a game too many at Upper Eden.

They did rattle the Kirkby Stephen side by taking the lead within five minutes of the start with an excellent team try finished off and converted by Brad Jackson, but a flurry of injuries left Egremont clinging on by their fingertips at half time, when the hosts led by just 17-7.

Upper Eden were quick to take advantage of Egremont’s fatigue, and in the 20 minutes following half-time, they raced out to an unassailable lead.

To their credit, Egremont summoned up the energy to finish considerably the stronger of the two teams, and a darting scrum half-try from the excellent man-of-the-match Jack Thompson was no less than the visitors deserved as they completed this intense period of match action.

They resume on Saturday with a Cumbria League Cup fixture at home to Silloth, which will be followed by the presentation of awards by Brooke in a, no doubt, packed clubhouse.