Ollie Norris: the schoolboy No 8 who became an All Blacks prop, debuting in the 500th Test win

Ollie Norris played his school rugby as a number 8. Within a few years he was propping the Chiefs' scrum, and on 5 July 2025 he came off the bench at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin to make his All Blacks debut in a 31-27 win over France, the All Blacks' 500th Test victory. The Sydney-born loosehead from Cambridge has since played three Tests, all of them wins, and started two Super Rugby finals. A knee injury cut short his 2026 tour of South Africa.

Sydney to Cambridge

Oliver Norris was born in Sydney on 11 December 1999 and is of Ngapuhi descent. The NZ Rugby Museum's profile on stats.allblacks.com records that he moved to New Zealand and went to St Peter's School in Cambridge.

Rugby runs in the family. His older brother, Jacob Norris, is a flanker who has played for Tasman, Bay of Plenty, the Western Force and Moana Pasifika, and for the Maori All Blacks.

At St Peter's, the Chiefs' player profile records, Ollie was part of the First XV that won the national co-educational schools title. Samipeni Finau, later his team-mate at Waikato and the Chiefs, was at the school too, and both were picked for the New Zealand Schools Barbarians in 2017. Norris played for the Barbarians as a number 8.

From number 8 to the front row

In his first year out of school he moved to the front row, according to the Museum. He was part of the wider New Zealand Under 20 squad in 2018 and was called up to travel to France for the closing match of that year's World Rugby Under 20 Championship. In 2019 he went to the Under 20 Championship in Argentina, and scored a try in the 52-33 win over Scotland at Racecourse Stadium, Rosario, on 8 June 2019. Wikipedia credits him with eight matches and two tries for the Under 20s across the two years.

He played his club rugby as a loosehead for Hautapu, near Cambridge, and made his first-class debut for Waikato in 2019.

Waikato champions, brothers apart

His provincial highlight so far put the brothers on opposite sides. On 20 November 2021 Waikato hosted Tasman in the NPC Premiership final at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton. Ollie was on the Waikato bench and came on early in the second half; Jacob started at blindside flanker for Tasman. Waikato won 23-20 to take the title, with Finau also in the Waikato pack.

Wikipedia records at least 40 games and four tries for Waikato.

The Chiefs

The Chiefs called Norris in as injury cover in 2020, and he made his Super Rugby debut that season. The club's profile says consistent seasons made him a regular in the match-day 23, and he has played in three Super Rugby finals. He came off the bench in the 2023 final against the Crusaders at Waikato Stadium on 24 June 2023, which the Crusaders won 25-20. He started at loosehead in the 2025 final against the Crusaders at Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch, on 21 June 2025, and again in the 2026 final against the Hurricanes at Hnry Stadium, Wellington, on 20 June 2026. The Chiefs lost all three.

By July 2026, according to Rugby Database figures quoted by Cambridge News, Finau had played 103 of his 132 first-class games in New Zealand alongside his fellow St Peter's old boy.

Maori All Blacks and All Blacks XV

In 2021 Norris was named in the Maori All Blacks squad, and he made his debut off the bench against Samoa at Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, on 3 July 2021. Jacob had made his Maori debut in the first match of that two-match series against Samoa. "It has been a special time for the Norris brothers," Maori coach Clayton McMillan said when naming the side. He was named again for the Maori All Blacks' two matches against a Japan XV in 2024.

In 2023 he toured Japan with the All Blacks XV, and was named on the bench for the match against a Japan XV at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo, on 8 July 2023.

The All Blacks

The call came in June 2025. Norris was one of five new faces in Scott Robertson's 35-man squad for the three-Test series against France, chosen to contest the number 1 jersey with Ethan de Groot and Tamaiti Williams after Ofa Tu'ungafasi was injured.

He wore 17 in all three of his Tests. The first was the 31-27 win over France at Forsyth Barr Stadium on 5 July 2025, the All Blacks' 500th Test victory, which made him All Black number 1227. The second was the 43-17 win over France at Sky Stadium, Wellington, on 12 July 2025, and the third was the 41-24 win over Argentina at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Cordoba, on 16 August 2025. He is unbeaten in a black jersey.

The 2026 tour

Dave Rennie, the new All Blacks coach, left Norris out of his first squad of 2026, but recalled him when the squad grew to 44 for the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour of South Africa, named on 26 July 2026. He played in the first two tour matches, a 38-21 win over the Stormers in Cape Town on 7 August 2026 and a 54-0 win over the Sharks at Kings Park Stadium in Durban on 11 August 2026.

On 16 August 2026 the All Blacks announced that Norris had suffered a cartilage injury in his knee and would return home, with an expected six weeks out of the game. Highlanders prop Saula Ma'u was called in to replace him.

Style and standing

The Museum's profile describes a powerful loosehead known for strong scrummaging, mobility around the park and work rate in attack and defence, who also carries the ball well and contributes at the breakdown. The Chiefs' profile calls him "the strong scrummager". McMillan, who coached him at the Chiefs and with the Maori All Blacks, said in 2021 that he had enjoyed "a successful Super Rugby campaign".

Where he is now

The knee injury was still keeping Norris out when Rennie named his 36-man squad for the November 2026 northern tour on 26 October 2026: the All Blacks listed him among the players unavailable through injury. He turns 27 on 11 December 2026.

Career at a glance

Test figures are from RUGBE's match-by-match All Blacks data and stats.allblacks.com. Other figures are from Wikipedia and the Chiefs.