Johnny Lee: two tries on his Crusaders debut, a Ranfurly Shield winner and Tasman captain at 22

Some players wait years for a Super Rugby try. Johnny Lee scored two in his first game. On 14 March 2026, starting at openside flanker for the Crusaders against the Highlanders in Christchurch, the 22-year-old from Christ's College crossed twice in ten minutes to turn the South Island derby, and the Crusaders won 29-18. Four months later Tasman made him captain of their NPC side. He had already played his part in Tasman's first ever Ranfurly Shield win, in 2024, and in October 2026 the Crusaders rewarded him with a full contract for 2027.

A Canterbury kid

Jonathan Lee was born on 4 March 2004, according to his Crusaders profile, and he grew up in Canterbury. The club describes him as a humble, grounded young loose forward who came "through the heart of our region". Before rugby took over there was a brief detour on the ice: he played ice hockey at about six, he told the Crusaders, because his older brother did.

He did not start out as a flanker. Lee began as a lock, moved to number 8 and eventually settled at openside, though he still plays across the back row. "Number one pick is probably 7," he said in March 2026, though he added that he would prepare for whatever the team needed.

Christ's College

Lee went to Christ's College in Christchurch and became captain of its First XV. His final year, 2021, brought the fixture every College boy wants to win. On 3 June 2021 College met Christchurch Boys' High School at Straven Road in Christchurch for the 138th time, and a seesawing match finished 35-34 to College, a year after they had won the same fixture 28-27. Lee scored a try and was named Player of the Day.

Later that year he was one of six College players picked for the Crusaders Junior Knights, the Crusaders' schools regional team, and he was named captain. The school noted that its boys had been singled out for leadership honours at least four years running: Sam Darry had captained the side in 2018, and Fletcher Anderson had captained New Zealand Schools in 2020. Lee's Junior Knights team, which included Nic Shearer and Liam Jack, came from 10-0 down to beat Otago 29-15 in Timaru on 15 October 2021. Lee said selection was "an unreal opportunity and experience", and the College boys loved being coached by Jason Ryan.

New Zealand Under 20

In 2024 Lee was picked for the New Zealand Under 20 team. That May the side won the first U20 Rugby Championship, played on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland between 2 and 12 May 2024, and in the middle of the year New Zealand reached the semi-finals of the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa, finishing fourth. Wikipedia credits Lee with seven appearances for the Under 20s; all.rugby lists five, one in the Rugby Championship and four at the World Championship. He did not score a try at that level.

Tasman, and a piece of history

Although he is a Cantab, Lee's provincial rugby has been played for Tasman. He was named in the Mako development squad for the 2024 NPC, and on 31 August 2024 he made his debut off the bench against Bay of Plenty in Blenheim. Tasman won 34-15.

A week later he was part of the most famous night in the union's history. On 7 September 2024 Tasman challenged Hawke's Bay for the Ranfurly Shield in Napier. Lee came off the bench in the 73rd minute, RugbyPass's match data shows, with the game in the balance. Hawke's Bay scored late to lead 24-22, but after the hooter replacement Campbell Parata kicked a long-range penalty to win it 25-24. According to New Zealand Rugby's round wrap, it was the first time Tasman had ever lifted the Shield in their almost 20-year history.

Lee scored his first Tasman try on 28 September 2024, against Otago in Dunedin, although Otago won 47-31. Tasman lost the Shield to Taranaki in the final week of the 2024 regular season.

His 2025 season was shorter. He started the opening games of the 2025 NPC at blindside flanker, alongside Ethan Blackadder, but a hamstring injury restricted him. By the start of 2026 he had played 11 matches for the province, Marlborough Now reported.

Crusader number 303

On 7 November 2025 the Crusaders named a 12-man wider training group for 2026, more than double the size of previous years, and Lee was one of three loose forwards in it. Injuries opened the door early in the season. When head coach Rob Penney named his team to play the Highlanders, Lee was in the No 7 jersey.

"He's a classy loose forward who can do all things," Penney said in the team announcement, praising him as "a big body who gets locked into the breakdown". Lee had been told on the Monday. "I didn't really know how to react at first," he said, crediting the senior loose forwards Ethan Blackadder and Sione Havili for helping to shape him.

The match, on 14 March 2026 at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch, became Crusader number 303's night. The Highlanders, who had beaten the Crusaders in Dunedin in the opening round, led 18-12 early in the second half. On 50 minutes Codie Taylor found his lineout target 15 metres out, Lee peeled off the maul, linked with Blackadder and took the return pass to dive over. Rivez Reihana's conversion put the Crusaders in front 19-18. Just before the hour the pack set another maul from a lineout in the corner, drove for the line, and when the bodies were untangled Lee had the ball for his second try. The Crusaders' match report was headlined "Lee's dream debut double". They won 29-18.

Wikipedia credits him with seven Crusaders appearances in 2026 and those two tries; all.rugby lists six games, four of them starts.

Captain of the Mako

When Tasman named their squad for the 2026 NPC in July, the local press singled out Lee as one of the standouts of the Super Rugby season. By 27 July 2026 he had been named to lead the Mako for the campaign, at 22. In the opener against North Harbour in Nelson on 31 July 2026, a training injury to Shannon Frizell moved Lee to number 8, and he led Tasman to a 31-29 win.

He also found the try line. Lee scored against Southland in Nelson on 22 August 2026 (a 46-17 win), against Wellington in Blenheim on 5 September 2026 (42-28), and against Waikato in Hamilton on 3 October 2026 (50-33). In the quarter-final against Northland in Whangārei on 9 October 2026 he scored after four minutes, but Northland won 26-21 to end Tasman's season.

Those four tries took his Tasman total to five in 22 games, by Wikipedia's count to 9 October 2026.

Style and standing

Penney's description, a loose forward "who can do all things" with "really good flexibility", fits a player who has started at six, seven and eight for Tasman and the Crusaders. all.rugby's records show half his starts at openside, a quarter at number 8 and a fifth at blindside. His two debut tries came from lineout drives, and Penney and Lee both talk about the breakdown as his core job. "I'll just focus on my role," he said before his debut, explaining that he wanted to stop the Highlanders' jackal threats and "set the boys up".

He remains grounded about the journey. "I never really thought I'd be able to be here one day," he told the Crusaders before his debut.

Where he is now

On 28 October 2026 the Crusaders named their 38-man squad for 2027 under new head coach Scott Hansen. Lee was one of three players, with Xavier Treacy and Oli Mathis, who the club said had "proved their worth" in the 2026 wider training group to earn full contracts. He joins a loose forward group that includes Ethan Blackadder, Dominic Gardiner, Christian Lio-Willie, Xavier Saifoloi and new signing Finn McLeod.

Career at a glance

Tasman tries are from the Wikipedia NPC season match records (one in 2024, none in 2025, four in 2026), which agree with the 25 points in his Wikipedia profile.