Lucas Casey: two tries in Otago's 2025 Ranfurly Shield win and 19 NPC tries in two seasons

On 20 September 2025 Otago went to Christchurch to challenge unbeaten Canterbury for the Ranfurly Shield, and their openside flanker scored twice. The second try, a long solo run through the heart of the Canterbury defence, turned the game, and Otago won 38-36. Lucas Casey, then 22 and a Dunedin club player only months earlier, finished that NPC as the competition's joint top try scorer, became the Highlanders' Rookie of the Year in 2026, and scored ten more NPC tries that season. He is signed with the Highlanders until the end of 2029.

Kerikeri

Lucas Casey was born in Kerikeri on 30 April 2003, according to Wikipedia and his Highlanders profile, and grew up there in the Bay of Islands. His father played halfback for South Canterbury, RugbyPass reported in 2025.

He went to Kerikeri High School and played in the First XV. Rather than moving to one of the big Auckland rugby schools, he came through the Northland representative system from under 13 to under 18, according to RugbyPass, and he has named Tom Robinson, the former Blues captain who also came from Kerikeri, as a role model. His favourite player, he told the Highlanders, is Richie McCaw.

In 2021 he played for the Blues under-18 side, and he also played for the New Zealand Schools sevens team.

Dunedin and Kaikorai

Casey moved to Dunedin to study, and by October 2025 he was one paper short of a commerce degree, according to RugbyPass. He joined the Kaikorai club and worked his way up from the colts to the premier side.

In 2023 he played for the Highlanders under 20 side and made his first-class debut for North Otago in the Heartland Championship, playing four games. "Playing Highlanders U20s built a massive love for the region and team," he said in his Highlanders profile. In 2024 he played for the New Zealand Barbarians at the Super Rugby under 20 tournament in Taupō.

His club career peaked in 2025. Kaikorai won the Otago premier club title for the first time since 2016, with Casey playing most of the season at No 8, and he was named Otago's club rugby player of the year.

Otago

Casey made his NPC debut for Otago against Southland in Invercargill on 10 August 2024, a 22-13 loss, and scored his first try for the province in a 32-28 loss to Wellington in Dunedin on 11 September 2024. He played five games that season.

In 2025 he became a regular in the No 7 jersey. He scored late in a 27-21 loss to Hawke's Bay in Dunedin on 10 August 2025, then twice in a 46-41 win over the defending champions, Wellington, in Porirua on 17 August 2025, and again in a 29-10 win over Northland in Dunedin on 5 September 2025. That win began a run of seven straight victories that carried Otago to the final.

The Shield

Canterbury had won every game of the 2025 season when Otago arrived in Christchurch to challenge for the Shield, and with No 8 Christian Lio-Willie unavailable, coach Mark Brown started Casey at openside. Canterbury led 24-14 at half-time.

Three minutes after the break Casey took an offload outside the Canterbury 22, outpaced the cover and fended off fullback Chay Fihaki to score. Canterbury hit back with two tries to lead 36-21, and Otago were still ten points behind after a try by wing Jae Broomfield. Then, from a ruck in midfield, Casey broke through a tackle by lock Jamie Hannah, beat flanker Tom Christie and stepped past Andrew Knewstubb to run in his second. Four minutes later Otago's lineout drive carried hooker Liam Coltman over, and Cameron Millar's conversion won the Shield, 38-36.

It was Otago's first Ranfurly Shield win over Canterbury for 77 years, Provincial Rugby noted, and the first time they had taken the Shield from Canterbury in Christchurch since 1935, according to RugbyPass. When the Highlanders named Casey for his Super Rugby debut five months later, they singled out "his spectacular try against Canterbury" in that match.

The tries kept coming. He scored the first try of the second half in Otago's first defence, a 41-26 win over North Harbour in Dunedin on 27 September 2025, and another in the 44-41 quarter-final win over Waikato in Dunedin on 10 October 2025. Otago beat Bay of Plenty 41-17 in the semi-final in Dunedin on 17 October 2025 and met Canterbury again in the final in Christchurch on 25 October 2025. Casey scored in the 19th minute, but Canterbury won 36-28. The Highlanders noted that he topped the tackle count in the final, alongside prop Rohan Wingham.

His nine tries made him the competition's joint top try scorer, with Bay of Plenty's Fehi Fineanganofo and Tasman's Tomasi Maka.

The Highlanders

The Highlanders signed him on a two-year deal, a place in the wider training group for 2026 and a full contract for 2027. From the wider group he went straight into the starting side. For the opening game of the 2026 season, against the champion Crusaders in Dunedin on 13 February 2026, Jamie Joseph started him at No 8. Casey won an early turnover, the Otago Daily Times reported, and the Highlanders won 25-23 with a Millar penalty three minutes from time.

He played 11 Super Rugby games in his first season and scored three tries: in a 31-14 loss to the Reds in Brisbane on 27 February 2026, a 42-12 loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton on 15 May 2026 and a 45-28 loss to the Hurricanes in Wellington on 23 May 2026. In June 2026 he was named Rookie of the Year at the Highlanders' awards.

"It's my childhood dream to play professional rugby," he said in his Highlanders profile.

Ten more for Otago

Casey went back to Otago for the 2026 NPC and scored ten tries in 11 games, second only to Tasman's Kyren Taumoefolau, who scored 19. He opened with two in a 41-14 win over Southland in Invercargill on 1 August 2026 and scored against Canterbury in Dunedin on 9 August 2026, although Canterbury won the Shield back, 19-15. He then scored in three straight wins, 29-27 over Manawatū in Palmerston North on 15 August 2026, 61-22 over Wellington in Dunedin on 23 August 2026 and 43-38 over Waikato in Dunedin on 29 August 2026. He scored twice in a 35-24 loss to Hawke's Bay in Napier on 4 September 2026, then once each in wins over Tasman, 57-33 in Dunedin on 11 September 2026, and Counties Manukau, 50-21 in Pukekohe on 17 September 2026.

That took him to 20 NPC tries in 28 games for Otago. RUGBE's own NPC rankings had him first among loose forwards for tries and second overall on a combined measure of tries, tackles, metres and minutes.

Style and standing

The Highlanders describe Casey as "a dynamic openside flanker" known for "his relentless work rate, strength over the ball" and his impact in defence and attack. When he was named in the wider training group in November 2025, the club said he "took the NPC by storm".

Asked what he would be if he were not a rugby player, he said a teacher.

Where he is now

Casey is one of eight loose forwards in the Highlanders' 2027 squad, alongside returning All Black Shannon Frizell and Fiji international Joseva Tamani, and the club has signed him through to the end of 2029. The Highlanders open the 2027 season against the Fijian Drua in Fiji on 13 February 2027.

Career at a glance

NPC and Super Rugby appearances from RugbyPass; tries checked against Wikipedia's match records. Otago's non-NPC Shield defences, including a try against Mid Canterbury in Alexandra on 24 July 2026, are not in the NPC figures.