Ethan de Groot: from crutching sheep in Southland to a World Cup final at loosehead

The day after he dislocated his shoulder in a First XV game, his Southland Boys' High School coach rang to see how the young prop was. He had pictured him on the couch with his arm in a sling. Ethan de Groot was out crutching sheep. The Southland Tribune told that story in 2023. The schoolboy prop has since played 46 Tests for the All Blacks, started a World Cup final, and signed to stay in the south until 2029.

Gore and Eastern Southland

Ethan de Groot was born on 22 July 1998 in Southport, on Queensland's Gold Coast, but he grew up in Eastern Southland. He played his junior rugby for Albion-Excelsior in Gore, and in 2008, aged 10, he played his first representative game, for the Eastern sub-union. At Gore High School he would train with his school team and then head out to train with the Riversdale senior side for extra work.

He is proud of where he comes from. When the All Blacks were in Washington in 2021 and he was asked about seeing the sights, he answered with a nod to the brown trout statue in Gore: "Yeah, the old Washington Monument. She's no brown trout."

Southland Boys' High and a stubborn streak

For his final year at school, 2016, he moved to Southland Boys' High School in Invercargill, and it was there, at Les George Oval, that he dislocated his shoulder and popped it back in, the day before the crutching. Shoulder problems kept coming back, and he missed his first season out of school because of them.

He was an apprentice builder through those years, and did two years of the apprenticeship before focusing on rugby. "I'm pretty stubborn when it comes to injuries," he told the Southland Tribune, explaining that he preferred to take his time over rehab.

The Blues club and the Stags

In 2018 he was back, playing senior club rugby for the Invercargill club, the Blues, and making his NPC debut for Southland. In 2019 the Blues won the Galbraith Shield, but two rounds into his second NPC season he dislocated a kneecap and missed most of the provincial campaign. He has played 19 games for Southland, on Wikipedia's count.

The Highlanders take a chance

He had only a handful of games for the Stags when the Highlanders signed him for the 2020 season, a decision that surprised some, the Tribune noted. Clarke Dermody, a former Southland All Black loosehead, has been closely involved in his development there, the Tribune noted. Within a year he was their first-choice loosehead, and in June 2026 he brought up 76 games for the club. The Highlanders named him their Highlander Man in 2024 and again in 2026, and their most valuable player of 2026.

An All Black

His Test debut came straight after that first big Super Rugby season, off the bench against Fiji at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on 10 July 2021, a 57-23 win. He was Southland's 58th All Black, by the Tribune's count, and he gave his debut jersey to Southland Boys' High. His first start came on the end-of-year tour, against the United States at FedEx Field in Washington, and he scored his first Test try in a 104-14 win.

In 2022 he missed out on Ian Foster's first squad, and days later he was turning out for the Blues club at Oreti Park. After the home series loss to Ireland he was recalled for the Rugby Championship. He came off the bench in the defeat in Mbombela, then started at Ellis Park a week later as the All Blacks won 35-23, and he started seven of the last eight Tests of the year, scoring in a 53-3 win over Argentina in Hamilton and playing in the 25-25 draw with England at Twickenham.

A World Cup and a red card

By 2023 he was the first-choice loosehead. He started the World Cup opener against France in Paris, which the All Blacks lost 27-13, and came off the bench against Namibia in Toulouse in the 47th minute. Within moments he had scored, but late in the game his shoulder made contact with the head of the Namibian flanker Adriaan Booysen. Referee Luke Pearce showed a yellow card and the bunker review upgraded it to red. Rugby World reported that he was the first All Black to be sent off at a World Cup.

A two-match ban kept him out of the last two pool games. He came back to start the quarter-final against Ireland, won 28-24, the 44-6 semi-final win over Argentina, and the final against South Africa at the Stade de France, which the Springboks won 12-11. Before the final the Southland Tribune pointed out that he had the chance to become the first Southland All Black to win a World Cup final.

Neck, head and a settled No 1

A neck injury in 2024 forced him off nearly an hour into the loss to Argentina in Wellington and kept him at home for the two Tests in South Africa. He was back for the Bledisloe Cup, starting the 31-28 win in Sydney and the 33-13 win in Wellington, and he started against Italy in Turin on the November tour.

The 2025 season was his busiest. He started 11 Tests, all at loosehead: all three against France, both in Argentina, both home Tests against the Springboks, the Bledisloe Test at Eden Park, and Ireland in Chicago, Scotland at Murrayfield and England at Twickenham on the northern tour. He missed only the Perth Test, after failing a head injury assessment, and the Test against Wales in Cardiff. On debut day for Fabian Holland in Dunedin it was de Groot who stood beside the young lock for the anthem. Holland called that moment, with "the Grooter" next to him, the point when it really hit him.

2026: a new deal down south

Under Dave Rennie he started the first three Tests of 2026, wins over France in Christchurch, Italy in Wellington, where he scored his fifth Test try, and Ireland at Eden Park. In August, during the tour of South Africa, he re-signed with New Zealand Rugby, the Highlanders and Southland until the end of 2029, through to the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand. "Re-signing was an easy decision for me," he said. "I've always been proud of where I come from." He had become a father in March, and the announcement said that had made the decision easier.

On tour he played against the Sharks in Durban and started the 33-16 win over the Springboks at Ellis Park and the 43-28 loss in Baltimore, but was not in the 23 for the Tests in Cape Town and at FNB Stadium. He started the 50-19 Bledisloe Cup win at Eden Park on 10 October and was not in the side for the win in Sydney a week later.

Style and standing

The praise for de Groot is about work and loyalty more than flash. All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan, announcing the new contract, said he "enjoys the hard parts of the game". New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Lancaster pointed to the same loyalty and work ethic for his home region as a Stag and a Highlander. His old school coach ranked him with the toughest players to come through the Southland Boys' High First XV in three decades, the Tribune reported.

Southland means a lot to him, and he shows it. In 2023, during a rare weekend off, he went to Invercargill to run the water for the Stags in an NPC game against Northland.

Honours: Rugby World Cup runner-up 2023; Highlanders Highlander Man 2024 and 2026; Highlanders most valuable player 2026.

Where he is now

De Groot, 28, has 46 Tests and five tries. Rennie has named him at loosehead against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday 7 November (3.10am Sunday NZ time), his first start since the Eden Park Bledisloe Test, alongside Codie Taylor and Fletcher Newell in the front row, with Fabian Holland and Scott Barrett behind him. He played at Murrayfield in 2022 and 2025, and both times the All Blacks won. His contract with New Zealand Rugby, the Highlanders and Southland runs to the end of 2029.

Career at a glance

Test figures are from RUGBE's match-by-match All Blacks data to 17 October 2026. Southland and Highlanders figures are from Wikipedia, updated October 2026; the Highlanders total matches the club's August 2026 announcement.