Cortez Ratima

Cortez-Lee Peter Ratima is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a halfback for the All Blacks, Chiefs in Super Rugby, and Waikato in the Bunnings NPC.

Early life

Ratima was born in the King Country area of New Zealand's North Island in 2001. His name, Cortez, comes from the 1972 Nike shoe of the same name because of his father's collection of the shoe. He was raised on a farm in Piopio and attended Piopio Primary School and College in his youth and briefly attended New Plymouth Boys' High School on the North Island's western coastal region of Taranaki before relocating to Hamilton in the adjacent region to the north, Waikato. Ratima finished his education at Hamilton Boys High School and was a regular representative of Waikato through all grades and was a part of the schools' first XV. Ratima also represented the Waikato Chiefs U18s and New Zealand Māori U18s before eventually playing for the Waikato Rugby Academy at 17-years-old.

He was named in the Chiefs squad for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season. He was also a member of the 2021 Bunnings NPC squad.

He made his international test debut against England on 13 July 2024. He scored his first international try against Fiji on the 19th July 2024.