Sam Darry: a try on his first All Blacks start, a Super Rugby title and an NPC crown

On 10 August 2024, in his first Test start, a 2.03 m lock pounced on a loose ball in Wellington and rolled over the Argentine line for a try. Seven weeks earlier he had started in the Blues' Super Rugby Pacific final win, and on 26 October 2026 he started at lock again when Canterbury won the NPC final. Sam Darry, 26, a former Christ's College captain who once rowed in a Maadi Cup-winning eight, has 12 Tests for the All Blacks. This is the story of his career so far.

Where he comes from

Darry was born in Dunedin in July 2000 and grew up in Christchurch. He met the All Blacks early. The Star reported in 2024 that he was three months old when he got his first look at the team's environment, because his mother was the All Blacks' nutritionist; she was back in that role, and in San Diego, when he made his Test debut.

At Christ's College he captained the First XV and rowed in the school eight that won the Maadi Cup, the national schoolboy rowing title. He was named Canterbury Under 19 Player of the Year, played for New Zealand Schools, and was an Under 20 triallist, though the 2020 Under 20 world championship he was in line for was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. His club is Christchurch High School Old Boys.

Canterbury

Darry's first game for Canterbury was a Ranfurly Shield defence against North Otago at Rugby League Park, Christchurch, on 28 August 2020. He scored twice in a 71-7 win, then made his Mitre 10 Cup debut that season and scored against Hawke's Bay at McLean Park, Napier, on 26 September 2020, a 19-20 loss. He scored again in a 52-20 win over Tasman at Lansdowne Park, Blenheim, on 26 August 2022.

He has remained a Canterbury player throughout his Blues career. In the 2025 NPC he scored twice against Bay of Plenty at Tauranga Domain on 16 August 2025 (21-7), once against Manawatu at Rangiora Showground on 30 August 2025 (53-14), and once in a Ranfurly Shield defence against Tasman at Apollo Projects Stadium on 14 September 2025 (31-25). He scored again in the 43-19 semi-final win over Hawke's Bay at the same ground on 18 October 2025, but missed the final against Otago a week later because he was away with the All Blacks. Canterbury won it 36-28. "There was definitely a part of me that wished I was out there," he told the NZ Herald a year later.

The move north

In July 2020, the week he turned 20, Darry signed a three-year deal with the Blues while staying on contract to Canterbury. It was not an easy call. "As a Canterbury boy it was a strong pull to stay," he told The Star, but he wanted to test himself away from home. He named Brodie Retallick as the player he wanted to model his game on, as "a tall and lanky lock". Blues coach Leon MacDonald called him "a smart and driven young man".

His Super Rugby debut came against the Highlanders at Eden Park on 14 March 2021, a 39-17 win in round three of Super Rugby Aotearoa. When Patrick Tuipulotu took a sabbatical in Japan in 2022, the Blues' profile says, Darry grew into a key figure in the pack.

2024: a final and a Test jersey

Vern Cotter took over the Blues in 2024, and he told 1News that when he got the job, Darry texted him straight away to ask what he needed to work on. He scored twice in a 38-11 win over the Rebels at AAMI Park, Melbourne, on 3 May 2024, and by the end of the season the Blues' profile describes a "formidable lock partnership" with Tuipulotu.

When Tuipulotu injured his knee in the quarter-final, Darry took his place in the semi-final side. Before the semi-final, Cotter said he was "starting to have an edge to his game" and called him "a great leader at the lineout". Stand-in captain Dalton Papali'i went further. "I truly think he's going to be an All Black," he said, adding that Darry reminded him of Sam Whitelock and Ali Williams. Darry scored in the 14th minute of the 34-20 semi-final win over the Brumbies at Eden Park on 14 June 2024, and on 22 June 2024 he started at lock beside the returning Tuipulotu as the Blues beat the Chiefs 41-10 at Eden Park for their first Super Rugby title since 2003.

Three days after the final he was in All Blacks camp, he later told 1News. He trained with the All Blacks as injury cover during the two England Tests, and when the selectors decided to rest Tuipulotu for the Test against Fiji at Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, on 19 July 2024 (20 July 2024 in New Zealand), Darry was called in. "Sam Darry has come in to give him a bit of a break," assistant coach Leon MacDonald said. He came off the bench for the last 20 minutes of a 47-5 win.

His first start followed against Argentina at Sky Stadium, Wellington, on 10 August 2024. Beauden Barrett kicked ahead, Mark Tele'a and Codie Taylor could not secure the ball, and Darry took it and rolled over the line. The NZ Rugby match report called it "a stunning try". Argentina won 38-30, but Darry kept his place for the 42-10 win over the Pumas at Eden Park on 17 August 2024, then came off the bench at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, on 31 August 2024 (27-31) and at Stadium Australia, Sydney, on 21 September 2024 (31-28).

On 26 October 2024 he started against Japan at Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, beside Tuipulotu on the day his Blues captain led the All Blacks for the first time, and his pass put Pasilio Tosi away for one of the tries in a 64-19 win. A knee injury at training ended his tour a fortnight later; Scott Robertson said he would be out for four to six weeks.

2025: a lost Super season

A shoulder injury at Blues training in early 2025 needed surgery and ruled him out of the entire Super Rugby season. "It was just one of those crazy little things that happen at training," Cotter said. Darry admitted it was hard. "You work bloody hard over summer," he told 1News. In May 2025 he re-signed with the Blues and New Zealand Rugby for three more years, and Blues general manager of rugby Murray Williams described him as "tall, tough, and a student of the game".

He came back through Canterbury's NPC campaign, and when Tuipulotu needed shoulder surgery of his own in October 2025, Darry took his place in the squad for the northern tour. He came off the bench against Scotland at Murrayfield, Edinburgh, on 8 November 2025 (25-17) and England at Twickenham on 15 November 2025 (19-33).

2026: Rennie's lock

Darry scored three tries for the Blues in 2026, against Moana Pasifika at Eden Park on 15 March 2026 (43-7), the Highlanders at Eden Park on 17 April 2026 (47-40) and the Hurricanes at Eden Park on 16 May 2026 (24-47).

Dave Rennie named him in his first All Blacks squad and started him in his first Test, against France at One NZ Stadium, Christchurch, on 4 July 2026. The team announcement called Darry and Josh Lord "impressive young locks", and the All Blacks won 34-32. A week later, against Italy at Sky Stadium, Wellington, on 11 July 2026, the visitors scored first, and it was Darry who levelled the scores in the seventh minute, getting the ball down on the line after a series of forward drives. The All Blacks won 47-17 on the night Will Jordan became their record Test try-scorer.

He went on the tour of South Africa and the United States, playing three of the four midweek matches (he scored in the 54-0 win over the Sharks at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban, on 11 August 2026) and starting the third Test against the Springboks at FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, on 5 September 2026 (24-29) and the fourth at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, on 12 September 2026 (28-43). The Herald counted 361 minutes across his games on the tour.

With Scott Barrett back from injury, Darry was not named for the Bledisloe Cup Tests in October, and he went home to Canterbury. "It was disappointing," he said, but he added that the coaches were "very good, clear communicators" about what he needed to work on. He started all three of Canterbury's playoff games at lock: the 62-26 quarter-final win over Waikato at One NZ Stadium on 11 October 2026, the 38-28 semi-final win over Taranaki at the same ground on 18 October 2026, in which he scored and made a team-high 12 tackles, and the final against Northland on 26 October 2026, when he stole two Northland lineouts before coming off after an hour. Canterbury won 43-24 for their 16th NPC title.

He was not included in the 36-man squad for the November 2026 tour of Scotland, Wales and England.

Style and standing

The NZ Rugby Museum's profile singles out his "line-out accuracy, physicality and athleticism". Cotter called him "a great leader at the lineout", and Papali'i compared him with Whitelock and Ali Williams. His Test record is seven wins and five losses from 12 matches, seven of them as a starter.

Where he is now

Darry is named in the Blues' squad for 2027, under new head coach Jason Holland, and re-signed in May 2025 for three seasons. "The goal is to get back there at some stage," he told the Herald about the All Blacks in October 2026.

Career at a glance

Test figures are from RUGBE's match-by-match All Blacks data to 17 October 2026. The Blues total is from the club's player profile; the Canterbury figure is from Wikipedia and has not been updated since November 2024.