Rivez Reihana: man of the match in a Super Rugby final, and captain as Northland end a 48-year Shield wait

On 21 June 2025, under lights on a three-degree night at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch, Rivez Reihana kicked 11 of the Crusaders' 16 points in the Super Rugby Pacific final, a 16-12 win over the Chiefs, the club where his professional career began. He was named man of the match. Fourteen months later, on 20 August 2026, he went back to Christchurch as captain of Northland and led the Taniwha to a 36-12 win over Canterbury that brought the Ranfurly Shield north for the first time in 48 years. By the end of 2026 he had captained Northland in the union's first ever first-division final and finished as the NPC's leading points scorer.

Saint Kentigern College

Reihana was born on 25 May 2000. He is of Māori descent, with links to Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Wikipedia records, citing Te Ao Māori News's report of the 2024 Māori All Blacks squad.

His school was Saint Kentigern College in Auckland, the school of All Blacks such as Joe Rokocoko, Jerome Kaino and Braydon Ennor. He was brought into the First XV in Year 9, at about 14, to fill gaps in the outside backs, and he stayed in it for five years. The Crusaders' profile of him says he captained the side in his last two years. While he was there Saint Kents won three Auckland 1A titles, RugbyPass reported, and he was picked for New Zealand Schools in 2017 and 2018.

The Chiefs noticed early. In his penultimate year at school, the Chiefs' resource coach Andrew Strawbridge got in touch, and on a First XV trip to Hamilton Reihana dropped in and ended up joining a Chiefs skills session. The Chiefs and Waikato then signed him on an investment deal, and the Crusaders' profile records that he was part of the Waikato Academy in 2017.

Waikato and the New Zealand Under 20s

In April 2019 he went to the Oceania Under 20 Championship on the Gold Coast with the New Zealand Under 20 side. On 30 April 2019, at Bond Sports Park, he landed 11 of 13 conversions in an 87-12 win over Japan. At the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Argentina he kicked five conversions in a 45-13 win over Georgia in Santa Fe on 4 June 2019. His team-mates in that age group included Fergus Burke and Dallas McLeod, later his team-mates at the Crusaders.

His Waikato debut, in the first round of the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup, came sooner and in a different jersey than he expected. Waikato played Canterbury at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on 10 August 2019, and when fullback Tyler Campbell was injured in the opening minute, Reihana, who had trained all week at first five, played 78 minutes at fullback. Waikato won 31-28. He played nine games that season and was named Waikato's Rookie of the Year.

In 2020 he had a night to remember against the same opponents. On 18 October 2020 at Rugby League Park in Christchurch, Reihana kicked three penalties and then, deep into added time, a conversion from wide out that won the game: Waikato 16, Canterbury 15, with 11 of the points his. A week later, on 25 October 2020, he scored his first provincial try in a 27-20 win over Taranaki in Hamilton. In two seasons for Waikato he played 18 games and scored 31 points, Wikipedia records, including one try.

Home to Northland

In 2021 Reihana went home to Northland, as the Crusaders put it when they signed him, and he has been the Taniwha's first five ever since. His first points for Northland were a conversion against Wellington at Wellington Regional Stadium on 7 August 2021.

The goal-kicking became a habit. On 3 September 2022 at Okara Park in Whangārei he kicked eight points, including a penalty in the 80th minute, as Northland beat Auckland 23-22. On 1 September 2023 at the same ground he kicked four conversions and three penalties, 17 points, in a 44-21 win over Hawke's Bay. On 21 September 2024 at Semenoff Stadium in Whangārei he scored two tries and five conversions from five, 20 points, in a 47-24 win over North Harbour, and he finished 2024 as Northland's top points scorer. On 23 August 2025 he scored a try, five conversions and a penalty, 18 points, as Northland won 43-24 against Auckland at Eden Park.

By the end of 2023 he had started 28 of his 29 games for Northland and scored 168 points, the Crusaders said. Crusaders backs coach James Marshall, announcing the move south, said Reihana's "game driving and leadership has really grown".

The Chiefs

Reihana's first Super Rugby season was with the Chiefs. He was named in their squad for Super Rugby Aotearoa in 2021 and made his debut off the bench against the Blues at Eden Park on 1 May 2021, coming on in the 75th minute of a 39-19 loss, ESPN's match record shows. He played seven games for the Chiefs in 2022 and scored his first Super Rugby try that season, and one more game in 2023. That made nine games and one try across three seasons, figures on which RugbyPass's match data and Wikipedia agree.

A message from Christchurch

His route to the Crusaders started on social media. Marshall had been watching him, and the Crusaders' profile says the move began with an Instagram direct message. Reihana said they had kept in touch through the NPC and that chats with Crusaders players, Jack Goodhue among them, made the decision for him. The club confirmed him for 2024, and head coach Rob Penney called him "an all-round, very capable footballer".

His first game for the Crusaders was against the team he had just left. On 23 February 2024, in the opening round of the season at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton, he started at first five, with Macca Springer on the wing and Taha Kemara on the bench. The Crusaders came back from 27-10 down at half-time to lead 29-27 before the Chiefs won 33-29, and Reihana kicked two conversions and a penalty for seven points. Injury cut into his first season, in which he played seven games and started two, but the Crusaders re-signed him for 2025 and 2026. "We have enormous faith in Rivez and his game driving capabilities," Penney said. Reihana's reply: "I can't imagine playing my rugby anywhere else right now."

The 2025 final

By the 2025 playoffs he was the Crusaders' first five. In the qualifying final against the Reds at Apollo Projects Stadium on 6 June 2025 he scored a try, two conversions and a penalty in a 32-12 win. In the semi-final against the Blues at the same ground on 13 June 2025 he converted all three Crusaders tries in a 21-14 win.

The final, on 21 June 2025, was watched by a crowd of 17,000. Codie Taylor scored the Crusaders' only try in the 26th minute and Reihana converted it from the sideline. He kicked penalties in the 29th and 35th minutes, and with about ten minutes left he landed the last one after a scrum penalty, which left the Chiefs needing a try they never scored. RNZ's report said it was "the boot of Rivez Reihana and a powerful scrum effort" that decided it, and he was named man of the match as the Crusaders won their 13th Super Rugby title. Springer started on the left wing.

He played nine Super Rugby games in 2025 and scored 74 points, including two tries. In 2026 he played 13 games and scored three tries as the Crusaders reached the semi-finals. Across his three seasons in Christchurch he has played 29 games and scored five tries; RugbyPass's match data credits him with 161 points, while Wikipedia's tally is 156.

Māori All Blacks and All Blacks XV

The Māori All Blacks first picked him for their tour of Japan in 2024, and he started at first five in both matches against a Japan XV. In the first, on 29 June 2024 at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo, the Māori won 36-10 in the first game of the Ross Filipo era, and allblacks.com's report said he grew into the game, and his dummy and fend in the 69th minute started a long break that ended with Rameka Poihipi's second try. He played for the Māori against Scotland in Whangārei on 5 July 2025, and on 27 June 2026 at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya he kicked two conversions as the Māori came from 31-14 down to beat a Japan XV 38-31. Wikipedia credits him with five Māori All Blacks matches and 18 points.

In October 2025 Jamie Joseph named him in the All Blacks XV for a three-match tour of Europe. Against England A at the Recreation Ground in Bath on 8 November 2025 he scored an 80-metre try in the 64th minute, finishing a move that ran through David Havili and Josh Jacomb, in a 31-14 win. In his first start of the tour, against Uruguay at Stade Raoul-Barrière in Béziers, France, on 16 November 2025, he kicked five conversions in a 45-21 win that completed an unbeaten tour. Wikipedia records three All Blacks XV matches and 15 points: one try and five conversions. He has not played a Test.

Captain of the Taniwha

In 2026 Reihana was Northland's captain. They opened with a 40-14 win over Manawatu at Semenoff Stadium on 2 August 2026, in which he scored a try and five conversions, and beat Taranaki 42-0 at the same ground on 14 August 2026 with a try and six conversions from six by their captain.

Then came the Shield. Canterbury had held the Ranfurly Shield for 11 days when Northland arrived at One NZ Stadium, Te Kaha, in Christchurch on Thursday 20 August 2026. Northland led 21-12 at half-time, Reihana kicked four conversions from four and a penalty from about 40 metres, and Rob Rush's second try in the 80th minute finished it at 36-12. It was Northland's first Shield since 1978, their first win over Canterbury in 27 years and their first win in Christchurch since 1987, Pacific Media Network reported. Reihana told Sky Sport that the team had talked all week about how "we wanted to inspire the next generation", and that bringing back the Shield was the way to do it.

The next afternoon he carried the Log o' Wood off the plane at Whangārei Airport, where supporters greeted the team with a haka. "This is the busiest I've ever seen this airport," he told 1News. In the first defence, against Tasman at Semenoff Stadium on 30 August 2026, he scored 15 of Northland's 20 points, including a try in the 76th minute that sealed a 20-10 win. Northland defended the Shield again against Waikato, 34-17, on 12 September 2026, before Counties Manukau took it 22-19 in Whangārei on 26 September 2026.

The playoffs went further than any Northland side had gone. They beat Tasman 26-21 in the quarter-final at Semenoff Stadium on 9 October 2026, and in the semi-final against Otago at the same ground on 16 October 2026 Reihana kicked three conversions and four penalties from four, 18 points, in a 38-19 win. That took Northland to their first ever first-division final. Glenn Taylor, the Northland Rugby Union president and a former captain, called it "a history-making season for us" in an interview with RNZ.

The final was played on Labour Day, 26 October 2026, at One NZ Stadium in Christchurch. Reihana converted all three of Northland's first-half tries, Northland led 21-10 at half-time, and his 59th-minute penalty was their last score before Canterbury pulled away to win 43-24. "It's just the beginning for this group, and we'll be back, trust me," he told Sky Sport.

He scored in all 13 of Northland's games in 2026 and finished with 128 points from three tries, 43 conversions and nine penalties, the most in the competition, according to Wikipedia's statistics for the 2026 Hilux NPC. RugbyPass picked him at first five in its Form XV of the season. In six seasons with Northland he has played 60 games, scored 443 points and eight tries.

Off the field

The Crusaders' profile says Reihana has been studying psychology and sports science, and that away from rugby he likes the beach and reading books on Greek philosophy.

Where he is now

Reihana is in the Crusaders' 38-man squad for 2027, one of three first fives with James White and the returning Richie Mo'unga, under new head coach Scott Hansen. It will be his fourth season in Christchurch, after a 2025 title, a man of the match award in a final, and a year in which he brought the Ranfurly Shield home to Northland.

Career at a glance

Provincial figures are from Wikipedia's season records (to 26 October 2026), which agree with RugbyPass's match data for every season from 2022. Super Rugby season figures are from RugbyPass's match data; Māori All Blacks and All Blacks XV figures are from Wikipedia.