Adam Lennox: tries in Taranaki's 2023 NPC final and 2024 Ranfurly Shield wins

Eight minutes into the second half of the 2023 NPC final, Taranaki's backs carved through Hawke's Bay and Daniel Rona put halfback Adam Lennox over for the try that, once converted, made it 22-14. Hawke's Bay scored once more, and Taranaki held on to win the title 22-19. A year later Lennox scored again as Taranaki took the Ranfurly Shield from Tasman, and in 2026 he scored five Super Rugby tries for the Highlanders and another on his debut for the Māori All Blacks. He is 24, and in the Highlanders' squad for 2027.

Whanganui and Collegiate

Adam Graham Lennox was born in Whanganui on 4 November 2002, according to Wikipedia and his Highlanders profile. His iwi are Ngāti Kūia and Ngāti Raukawa, according to New Zealand Rugby. RUGBE could not find a published account of his junior rugby.

He went to Whanganui Collegiate School and played halfback in the First XV alongside first five Harry Godfrey, who later joined the Hurricanes. In 2020, a season shortened by Covid-19, Collegiate reached the semi-finals of the Central North Island competition, lost in the dying minutes to St Peter's Cambridge, then won the third-place play-off against Feilding High School. They also finished third at the 94th Quadrangular Tournament, beating Wellington College.

In October 2020 Lennox and Godfrey were invited to New Zealand Rugby's under-18 development camp, the only two schoolboys from a Heartland union among 50 players from 29 schools. In the camp's Barbarians match in Hamilton on 9 October 2020, the Whanganui Chronicle reported, Lennox came off the bench to run the cutter as his side pulled away in the second half to win 57-20. That year's New Zealand Schools sides could only be named on paper, because of the pandemic, and Lennox was one of 24 players in the New Zealand Barbarians Schools selection.

The Under 20s

Lennox made the New Zealand Under 20 squad in 2022 for the Oceania Championship on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. He came off the bench and scored a try as New Zealand opened with a 74-5 win over Fiji at Sunshine Coast Stadium on 1 July 2022, played in torrential rain, and he was on the bench again for the 69-12 win over Australia on 10 July 2022, a record score that won New Zealand the Oceania title for the fifth time.

Taranaki

After school he joined Taranaki, where he plays his club rugby for Stratford-Eltham, and he played six NPC games for the province in 2022, by RugbyPass's count.

In 2023 he played 13 NPC games, by RugbyPass's count. He scored twice in a 29-17 win over Waikato in Hamilton on 20 August 2023 and again in a 36-17 win over Otago in Dunedin on 16 September 2023. In the semi-final against Canterbury in New Plymouth on 13 October 2023 he scored in the 14th minute of a 23-16 win.

The final was against Ranfurly Shield holders Hawke's Bay in New Plymouth on 21 October 2023. Taranaki led 15-14 at half-time. Eight minutes after the break Josh Jacomb found a gap, Stephen Perofeta stepped inside and Rona gave the final pass to Lennox, who scored. Jacomb's conversion made it 22-14, and when Hawke's Bay closed to 22-19 a Taranaki scrum penalty sealed the title. Lennox, who started at halfback, scored five tries in the 2023 campaign. Asked by the Highlanders for his favourite rugby memory, he answered: "Winning NPC in 2023."

The Shield

In 2024 he scored four more NPC tries. One came on 6 October 2024 in Nelson, where Taranaki beat Tasman 42-29 to win the Ranfurly Shield and Lennox scored in the 72nd minute. Six days later, on 12 October 2024, he scored again in the quarter-final against Waikato in New Plymouth, but Waikato won 15-14.

Taranaki held the Shield through the summer. Lennox scored a hat-trick in a 78-7 defence against King Country in New Plymouth on 11 June 2025, and a try in the first NPC defence, a 23-3 win over Northland in New Plymouth on 2 August 2025. Waikato took the Shield 23-22 in New Plymouth on 23 August 2025.

He played at halfback, wing and fullback for Taranaki that season, and scored five NPC tries, including two in a 50-8 win over Auckland at Eden Park on 16 August 2025. In 2026 he scored three more, and Taranaki reached the semi-finals, losing 38-28 to Canterbury in Christchurch on 18 October 2026. His NPC record stands at 49 games and 17 tries.

The Highlanders

Lennox spent the 2025 pre-season with the Highlanders and was called into the full squad as injury cover in March. He made his Super Rugby debut off the bench against the Brumbies in Canberra on 28 March 2025, a 34-27 loss, and played seven games that season, by RugbyPass's count.

In 2026 he became a starter. With Dylan Pledger out for the season with an injury in January, Lennox shared the No 9 jersey with Folau Fakatava. On 27 February 2026 he started against the Reds in Brisbane and scored his first Super Rugby try, although the Reds won 31-14. On 17 April 2026 he scored twice against the Blues at Eden Park, in the third and 57th minutes, in a 47-40 loss. Nine days later he started and played the full 80 minutes against Moana Pasifika in Christchurch, scoring in a 27-17 win, and he scored again against the Hurricanes in Wellington on 23 May 2026, a 45-28 defeat. He finished the season with 13 games and five tries, by RugbyPass's count. The Highlanders credit him with 21 Super Rugby games.

Māori All Blacks

On 22 June 2026 Tamati Ellison named Lennox in his first Māori All Blacks squad, one of six uncapped players, citing his "great season with the Highlanders". The team flew to Japan, and on 27 June 2026 Lennox started at halfback against a Japan XV in Nagoya. Japan scored first and led 24-7 at half-time, but the Māori side, whose first try came from Lennox, came back from 31-14 down in the last 16 minutes to win 38-31.

Matches against a Japan XV are not Tests, and Lennox has not played a Test.

Style and standing

The Highlanders describe Lennox as a halfback "known for his sharp delivery, speed around the ruck, and strong game awareness", and note that his adaptability has seen Taranaki use him on the wing and at fullback. Naming the 2027 squad, head coach Jamie Joseph said Lennox and Pledger "are young players who are continuing to develop and push hard for opportunities".

His other ambition, he told the Highlanders, would have been to play quarterback in the NFL.

Where he is now

Lennox is one of three halfbacks in the Highlanders' 2027 squad, with Fakatava and Pledger, and is committed to the club until at least the end of 2028. The Highlanders open the 2027 season against the Fijian Drua in Fiji on 13 February 2027.

Career at a glance

Taranaki and Highlanders figures from RugbyPass, with tries checked against Wikipedia's match records; Highlanders appearance total from the club's profile. Taranaki's non-NPC Ranfurly Shield defences, including the hat-trick against King Country, are not in the NPC figures.