Sean Withy: Otago co-captain at 22, Southland captain at 23 and 54 games for the Highlanders

Sean Withy grew up on a dairy farm at Dipton in Southland, watching the Stags and the Highlanders. By 22 he was co-captain of Otago, by 23 he was back home captaining Southland, and in April 2026 he played his 50th game for the Highlanders. The openside flanker has 54 Highlanders games and three Super Rugby tries to his name, went on the All Blacks XV's unbeaten tour of Europe in November 2025, and is in the Highlanders' squad for 2027.

Where he comes from

Withy was born on 1 February 2001 and raised on the family farm at Dipton, the Otago Daily Times reported in 2021. He boarded for five years at Southland Boys' High School in Invercargill and captained its First XV in 2017 and 2018, a side the ODT called successful. The school's long-time First XV coach, Peter Skelt, told the Southland Tribune in 2018 that Withy was worth keeping an eye on, and rated him among the best schoolboy players he had coached in three decades. The ODT noted his "workrate, accuracy and defensive work" even then.

What he did not get at school was a national jersey. "It was a bit hard to get any exposure, really," he told the ODT's Steve Hepburn in 2021.

Dunedin and the long way up

In 2019 Withy moved to Dunedin to study at the University of Otago; by 2021 he was in his third year, studying part-time, the ODT reported. He joined the University club's premier side and the Otago academy, and played at the national Under 19 tournament that year.

He made his Otago debut in the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup, still a part-time student, and scored his first provincial try in a 35-34 win over Wellington at Wellington Regional Stadium on 10 October 2020.

The breakthrough came in April 2021 at the first Super Rugby Aotearoa Under 20 tournament in Taupō. Withy captained the Highlanders, scored three tries in a big opening win over the Barbarians, and led them to a come-from-behind victory over the Crusaders on 18 April 2021, won with the last kick of the game. That evening he was called back to the ground and told he had been named player of the tournament. "I had no idea," he told the ODT. He was then picked in the New Zealand Under 20 squad, which played a domestic programme that winter after its trans-Tasman tour was cancelled because of Covid-19; Wikipedia credits him with four appearances.

He had also spent seven weeks of the 2021 pre-season with the Highlanders on an intern training contract. In September 2021 he and the prop Saula Ma'u, both graduates of the club's high performance programme, were given full contracts for 2022. Withy called it "a dream come true" and said playing for the Highlanders had "been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember". Assistant coach Clarke Dermody said: "The upper ceiling on these guys is quite high."

The Highlanders

His first game came on 1 April 2022 against the Crusaders at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch, a 17-14 loss to the side that went on to win the title. Asked by the club to name his favourite rugby memory, Withy chose running out for that debut.

The 2023 season was the one the ODT called his breakthrough campaign. He played 14 games and scored his first Super Rugby try in a 43-35 win over the Western Force at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill on 19 March 2023, in his home province.

In 2024 he played 14 more games, starting the season on the blindside and finishing it in the No. 7 jersey, according to the Southland Tribune. He scored inside two minutes against the Blues at AAMI Park in Melbourne on 1 March 2024, in Super Round, though the Blues won 37-29, and scored again at the same ground against the Rebels on 13 April 2024, a 47-31 loss. He played 12 games in 2025.

In the 2026 opener he was part of the loose forward trio, with Te Kamaka Howden and Lucas Casey, that the club said was "relentless around the park" as the Highlanders beat the defending champion Crusaders 25-23 at Forsyth Barr Stadium on 13 February 2026. A week later he was named vice-captain for the match against the Chiefs. On 17 April 2026 he started at No. 6 at Eden Park in Auckland for his 50th Highlanders game, a round-10 match for the Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy, which the Blues won 47-40. The club said he had built his reputation "on work rate, accuracy, and defensive steel". He played 13 games in the season, taking his Highlanders total to 54 with three tries.

Otago co-captain

Back in the NPC, Withy played 10 games for Otago in 2022 and scored in a 54-35 win over Manawatu at Arena Manawatu in Palmerston North on 25 September 2022. In 2023, aged 22, he shared the Otago captaincy with Sam Gilbert, the ODT reported, and played eight games.

Home to Southland

In December 2023 Withy signed a three-year deal with the Southland Stags. "Sean is a brilliant player and leader in any team he's in," said Southland director of rugby Matt Saunders, while Otago chief executive Richard Kinley said he would be welcome back in the future. The Southland Tribune's writer, who had covered the Stags for 20 years, called it the most important signing he could remember. Withy said he hoped to be "a bit of a catalyst" for other Southlanders playing in Dunedin to come home.

He was named Southland captain at the 2024 season launch in Invercargill in July. "I haven't been into a new environment for four-five years," he told the Tribune after his first day with the squad.

His first game for Southland was against his old province, on Stag Day, 10 August 2024, at Rugby Park Stadium. Withy ducked through two tacklers and offloaded for Blair Ryall's first-half try, and Southland won 22-13, their first win over Otago since 2020, to reclaim the Donald Stuart Memorial Shield. The ODT's Adrian Seconi wrote that he "tackled like a lion" and dominated the breakdown. "I couldn't have scripted it up any better," Withy told Sky Sport. "It's a fairy-tale to come out and play against my old mates."

He scored against Taranaki at Rugby Park Stadium on 24 August 2024, a 39-24 loss, and at the end of the season was named the 2024 Southland Stags Player of the Year. He scored once in 2025, against Northland at Semenoff Stadium in Whangārei on 8 August 2025, and three times in 2026: against Hawke's Bay at Rugby Park Stadium on 27 August 2026, against Counties Manukau at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe on 6 September 2026 and against Canterbury at One NZ Stadium in Christchurch on 26 September 2026. In three seasons for Southland he has played 29 games and scored five tries.

The All Blacks XV

At the end of 2025 Withy was named in Jamie Joseph's 30-man All Blacks XV squad for three matches in Europe, picked with the All Blacks selectors. The Highlanders' profile says the call-up recognised "his consistency and leadership on and off the field". He came off the bench in the opening match against the Barbarians at Gtech Community Stadium in Brentford on 1 November 2025, when the All Blacks XV came back from 19-0 down to win 33-19; allblacks.com's report said Withy and Jamie Hannah "added punch". The tour went on to beat England A 31-14 at the Recreation Ground in Bath on 8 November 2025 and Uruguay 45-21 at Stade Raoul Barrière in Béziers on 15 November 2025, finishing unbeaten.

Style and standing

Withy describes himself as an openside. The same three qualities, work rate, accuracy and defence, were picked out by the ODT when he was a schoolboy and by the Highlanders when he reached 50 games. The best advice he says he has received is "control what you can control". His favourite band is Foo Fighters.

Off the field

Withy kept studying through his professional career. At the Highlanders' awards evening on 19 May 2026 he received the Player Personal Development Award for completing a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Otago while playing Super Rugby.

Where he is now

Withy has not played a Test. He is one of eight loose forwards in the Highlanders' 2027 squad named on 28 October 2026, alongside Shannon Frizell, Lucas Casey and Te Kamaka Howden, and he has committed to the club through at least 2028. The Highlanders' profile says he will look to be "an experienced leader of the squad". The team assembles on 26 November 2026 and opens the 2027 season against the Fijian Drua in Fiji on 13 February 2027.

Career at a glance

Highlanders figures are from Wikipedia's list of Highlanders players (last game 23 May 2026). Southland figures and the 2022 and 2023 Otago figures are from RugbyPass season data; Otago's 2020 and 2021 appearances are Wikipedia's. The Highlanders' own profile gives a different provincial total.