Cam Christie: Under 20 title winner and Blues player of the match at 20, named for 2027 after a lost season

At 20, in only his second start for the Blues, Cam Christie was named the team's player of the match against the Chiefs in Hamilton. In 2024 he had been part of the New Zealand Under 20 side that won the first Rugby Championship for the age group and finished third at the world championship in South Africa. A knee injury then cost the 196-centimetre lock and loose forward, an Orewa College old boy, the whole of the 2026 season, but on 28 October 2026 the Blues named him in their squad for 2027.

Orewa and the schools team

Cameron Christie was born on 6 June 2004 and went to Orewa College, north of Auckland. He came up through the Blues' age-grade teams at under-17, under-18 and under-20 level, according to the club's profile.

He first made a name for himself in 2022, when he was picked for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team while playing for the Orewa College First XV, the Devonport Flagstaff reported. The national schools side played in the New Zealand Under 18 Quadrangular Tournament at St Paul's Collegiate in Hamilton, meeting the New Zealand Māori Under 18 team on 11 October 2022 and Fiji Schools on 15 October 2022. Liam Jack, who would go on to play lock for the Crusaders, was in the same schools team.

Christie told the Flagstaff that the schools programme taught him a professional approach: "Little things like being punctual, being really deliberate with your training."

North Harbour

After school he played club rugby for Silverdale in 2023, and that same season, still a teenager, he made his provincial debut for North Harbour. He played three NPC games in 2023, one starting at lock and two off the bench, according to the records on rugbyhistory.co.nz.

In 2024 he joined the North Shore club's premier side, drawn by its systems and facilities, he told the Flagstaff. For North Harbour that season he played seven games, six of them at lock, and scored his first provincial try in the 73rd minute against Counties Manukau at North Harbour Stadium in Albany on 31 August 2024. Harbour lost 36-33. In 2025 he played four more NPC games for Harbour, three at flanker and one at No 8.

The Under 20s

In April 2024 Christie was one of seven Blues under-20 players selected in the New Zealand Under 20 squad for the inaugural Rugby Championship for the age group, after impressing at the Super Rugby Under 20 tournament in Taupō. The tournament was played on the Sunshine Coast, against Argentina, South Africa and Australia. "I've never been to Australia before so I'm really excited," he told the Flagstaff before leaving. New Zealand won the tournament.

Coach Jono Gibbes then took his squad, Christie included, to the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in South Africa. New Zealand were placed in a pool with Wales, the defending champions France, and Spain, and reached the semi-finals, where France beat them 55-31 at Cape Town Stadium on 14 July 2024. Five days later, at the same ground on 19 July 2024, New Zealand beat Ireland 38-24 to finish third. Christie played seven games for the Under 20s that year, five of them at the world championship, starting three times at lock and coming off the bench four times across the two tournaments.

The Blues

Christie progressed from a National Development Contract to his first full Super Rugby contract with the Blues for 2025, the club's profile records. His debut came off the bench against the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium in Wellington on 1 March 2025, a 33-29 win, and he became Blues player number 353.

A week later he made his first start, at blindside flanker against the Brumbies at Eden Park on 7 March 2025, a 21-20 loss. He kept the No 6 jersey for the trip to FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton on 15 March 2025, played the full 80 minutes against the Chiefs, made a game-high 12 carries and nine tackles, and was named the Blues' player of the match. The Chiefs won 32-31. Head coach Vern Cotter praised his work rate after both games, and captain Patrick Tuipulotu said he showed the same attitude at training as in matches, RugbyPass reported.

He played eight Super Rugby games in 2025, five of them as a starting flanker and three off the bench, without scoring a try. His last appearance of the season was against Moana Pasifika at North Harbour Stadium in Albany on 17 May 2025.

A season lost to injury

When the Blues named their team for the opening match of 2026, against the Chiefs at Eden Park on 14 February 2026, the club listed Christie among the players not considered because of injury, with the note "knee, season". He did not play for the Blues or North Harbour in 2026. Without him the Blues finished fourth and reached the semi-finals.

Style and standing

The Blues describe him as a tall, athletic lock with "a strong set-piece presence", and point to his "work ethic and technical precision in the lineout". Wikipedia lists him at 196 centimetres and 114 kilograms. He has played most of his provincial and age-grade rugby at lock, while the Blues have used him at blindside flanker, and in the 2027 squad they list him among the loose forwards.

Where he is now

Christie has not played a Test for any country. On 28 October 2026 the Blues named him in their 2027 squad, one of seven loose forwards alongside the newly signed All Blacks captain Ardie Savea, Anton Segner, Torian Barnes, Che Clark, Jed Melvin and Malachi Wrampling. New head coach Jason Holland said of Savea's arrival: "Our young loosies will learn a huge amount just by being around him." Christie is contracted with the Blues to the end of the 2027 season, and the squad assembles at Blues headquarters in late November 2026. He shares the squad, and a surname, with halfback Finlay Christie.

Career at a glance

North Harbour, Under 20 and Blues figures are from rugbyhistory.co.nz and agree with RugbyPass's season records and Wikipedia's list of Blues players. Wikipedia also lists him as a New Zealand Under 20 player in 2023; RUGBE could not find him in that year's published world championship squad.