Anton Segner: the Frankfurt boy who practised the haka in the mirror and became an All Black

As a 10-year-old in Frankfurt, Anton Segner got up early to watch the All Blacks perform the haka before the 2011 World Cup final, and practised it in front of the mirror. Fifteen years later he is an All Black himself, the first player born in Germany to play a Test for New Zealand, and on Sunday morning he sits on the bench at 20 for the Test against Scotland at Murrayfield. It has been a long road from a backyard game with two English school friends to the black jersey, by way of a six-month school exchange that never ended.

Frankfurt

Segner was born in Frankfurt on 24 July 2001. Like most German boys, he said in June, he played football until he was nine. Then two English friends from school took him round to their house to throw a rugby ball about in the backyard. "Once I figured out that you were able to hit people legally," he said in June, he fell in love with the contact side of the game.

A week later he joined SC 1880 Frankfurt, a traditional Bundesliga club, and was coached through the junior grades by two New Zealanders, Kieran and Tim Manawatu. "He just wanted to live like a Kiwi, and so he just copied us," Kieran Manawatu recalled, as quoted by SA Rugby magazine. That meant learning the haka from YouTube and giving up fizzy drinks once he was told the All Blacks did not drink them. "Rugby in New Zealand is like football in Germany," Segner told AFP in 2021. Wikipedia records that he played for Germany's under-16 side in 2016.

Nelson College

In 2016 Tim Manawatu took a job with Tasman Rugby, and he put Segner in touch with Nelson College. Segner says Manawatu "planted the seed in my head" about having a crack at the First XV. In 2017, aged 15, he arrived in Nelson on a six-month exchange, according to New Zealand Rugby.

The Irish Examiner reported that the school thought he might end up in the third XV. Instead he went straight into the First XV, where his captain was Leicester Fainga'anuku, now also an All Black. Segner succeeded Fainga'anuku as captain, and the Blues later described him leading the school to a historic regional title. He stayed for three years in the First XV.

In 2018 he was picked for the Crusaders Under 18 side and for New Zealand Schools, making his debut against Tonga. "It was incredible, a huge honour," he told AFP. The haka held no fears: "I used to practise in front of the mirror," he said.

Tasman

His school form earned him a contract with the Tasman Mako, and in 2020, at 19, he made his provincial debut in round seven against Southland, a 47-10 win at Trafalgar Park in Nelson. He played five games that season, all off the bench according to rugbyhistory.co.nz, and the last of them was the final. On 28 November 2020 at Eden Park, he came on in the 66th minute and Tasman beat Auckland 13-12 to win the NPC title. Segner called it "probably the hardest game" since he had moved to New Zealand. Tasman coach Andrew Goodman told AFP the young German had made a couple of good plays and was "one of the last to leave training".

In 2021 he captained the Crusaders Under 20 side and was named in the New Zealand Under 20 squad. Covid wiped out the international tournaments, but he played in a 73-0 win over the Cook Islands in Auckland that July. He was already on New Zealand Rugby's radar: Under 20 coach Craig Philpott had said in 2020 that "Saula and Anton are a big part of New Zealand Rugby moving forward", after inviting Segner and Saula Ma'u to an age-grade camp. Back with Tasman that year, Segner started at openside in the NPC Premiership final in Hamilton, which Waikato won 23-20.

By then he had bulked up from about 95 kilograms on arrival to 110, AFP reported, and Covid had kept him from going home to Germany for two years. Under World Rugby's residency rules he would become eligible for the All Blacks in 2022.

The Blues

In October 2021 the Blues signed Segner on a three-year contract. Their coach, Leon MacDonald, had watched him in his final year in charge of Tasman and praised his "outstanding work ethic". "You don't get too many Germans coming here to take up rugby," Segner said. The Blues describe him as the first German to play Super Rugby.

He made his debut against the Hurricanes in round two of 2022. In 2023 he played in all three loose forward positions and was player of the match against the Force at Eden Park, and in 2024 he made eight appearances as the Blues won the Super Rugby title, though he was not in the 23 for the final. That year he also committed to Auckland for the long term, signing with Auckland for the NPC as well as extending his Blues contract. He played his first game for Auckland in August 2024 and, according to rugbyhistory.co.nz, captained the province for part of that season and in 2025.

The 2025 season brought 14 games for the Blues. In 2026, under Vern Cotter, he scored twice in a 47-40 win over the Highlanders in April and, New Zealand Rugby says, captained the Blues through the second half of the season. The Blues reached the semi-finals, where the Hurricanes beat them 57-21 in Wellington on 13 June.

The first German All Black

Nine days later, on 22 June 2026, Dave Rennie named Segner in his first All Blacks squad. He was the first German ever named in the team, a year after the Dutch-born lock Fabian Holland had made his own breakthrough. "It's a surreal feeling," he said, adding that people in Germany had got up at two in the morning to hear the squad read out. Ardie Savea, the new captain, welcomed the story: when people come together and embrace each other's stories, he said, "it can be a beautiful thing."

Segner was not in the 23 for the opening win over France, but on 11 July in Wellington he came off the bench at the start of the second half against Italy, with the All Blacks leading only 14-10. They won 47-17. He became All Black No 1237, and his family, who had travelled from Germany, were there to see it. "I'm getting plenty of comments and messages of support," he told reporters, and the president of the German rugby union had been in touch. A week later he came off the bench again in the 40-21 win over Ireland at Eden Park.

South Africa and a setback

Segner toured South Africa and started both of his early tour matches at openside: a 38-21 win over the Stormers in Cape Town and a 50-19 win over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, where he was named player of the match. He was then named on the bench for the first Test at Ellis Park, but withdrew on the morning of the match with a swollen ankle. It was diagnosed as acute inflammatory arthritis, and after keyhole surgery to clean out the ankle, Rennie ruled him out of the rest of the tour.

He was back for the Bledisloe Cup, coming off the bench in the 50-19 win over Australia at Eden Park on 10 October. All three of his Tests have been wins.

Style and standing

New Zealand Rugby's profile highlights his work rate, physicality and leadership, and the Blues point to his versatility and work over the ball. Uli Byszio, a former director of rugby at his Frankfurt club, put it another way to SA Rugby magazine: "He's got that Kiwi slang, but inside he's dead German stainless steel."

Off the field

Segner's parents and two brothers live in Germany, and he has said he talks to them almost every day. He has kept his sense of humour about his two sporting homes. Asked in June about opening his All Blacks career against France, he joked that Germans dislike the French football team and the All Blacks dislike the French rugby team.

Where he is now

Segner is on the bench at 20 for the Test against Scotland at Murrayfield, which kicks off at 3.10am on Sunday 8 November NZ time. If he takes the field it will be his fourth Test. Wales in Cardiff and England at Twickenham follow, then the Nations Championship finals weekend in London.

Career at a glance

Test figures are from RUGBE's match-by-match All Blacks data to 17 October 2026. Provincial and Super Rugby figures are from Wikipedia (updated 10 October 2026) and rugbyhistory.co.nz.