Will Stodart: co-captain at 21 when Otago took the Ranfurly Shield off Canterbury

On 20 September 2025, when Otago challenged Canterbury for the Ranfurly Shield at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch, the No 8 jersey and half of the captaincy belonged to a 21-year-old from Southland. Regular captain Sam Gilbert started on the bench and shared the job with Will Stodart, and by full-time Otago had won 38-36 and taken the Shield. It was the high point of a breakout season for a forward who has captained his school, a Highlanders Under 20 side and Otago, toured South Africa with the first New Zealand Under 19 team picked in 15 years, and had played 22 Super Rugby games for the Highlanders by the end of 2026. This is his story so far.

Myross Bush beginnings

Stodart was born on 3 October 2003 and is, in the Southland Tribune's phrase, a "born and bred Southlander". His rugby began while his family lived at Myross Bush, and he has kept the connection: when Super Rugby held its club round in March 2026 and the Highlanders wore the socks of their players' clubs, the team sheet for the match against the Western Force in Dunedin on 7 March 2026 listed him as Myross Bush and University of Otago.

He grew up a Highlanders fan. "Playing for the Highlanders would be pretty surreal," he told the Southland Tribune in 2023, remembering years of watching the team with his dad and the rest of the family. Asked by the club what inspires him, he answered: "Making my younger self proud."

He started secondary school at Southland Boys' High School, then moved north to board at St Andrew's College in Christchurch for his senior years. By 2021 he was captain of the St Andrew's First XV.

Three minutes at St Andrew's

One match from that season shows why coaches kept handing him the captaincy. On Saturday 5 June 2021, Queen's Birthday weekend, St Andrew's played St Thomas of Canterbury College on their own First XV field in Christchurch. St Thomas' scored under the posts and converted to lead 26-22, and the scoreboard clock said time was up. Their players were still celebrating when the referee told Stodart, as the Star reported, that there were three minutes left on his watch.

Stodart made a plan on the walk back to halfway: get the ball back from a short restart and go the length of the field. It worked. St Andrew's regained possession, went through the phases and scored wide on the left to win 27-26. "It really highlighted Will's rugby IQ and his leadership," the college's director of high performance sport, Rod McIntosh, told the Star.

Watching from the St Thomas' end that day was former All Blacks hooker Mark Hammett, who was then mentoring the St Thomas' First XV. Fifteen months later Hammett picked Stodart for New Zealand.

Dunedin and the age-grade teams

After school Stodart moved to Dunedin to study at the University of Otago, joined the University club (Varsity) and came into the Otago academy and the Highlanders High Performance Programme. NZ Rugby History records one game at lock for New Zealand Universities in 2022.

In September 2022 Hammett, as head coach, named him in the New Zealand Under 19 squad to tour South Africa. It was the first New Zealand Under 19 squad selected since the side that won the 2007 world title, allblacks.com noted. The squad gathered at Lincoln University on 11 September 2022, and the tour took in Stellenbosch, Durban, Potchefstroom and Johannesburg. It began with an 86-0 win over Western Province Under 19 in Stellenbosch and a 54-13 win over the Sharks Under 19 at Kings Park, Durban, on 24 September 2022.

He had already played one Super Rugby Under 20 tournament for the Highlanders in Taupō, and when he went back in March 2023 he was captain. The University of Otago Highlanders Under 20 side, coached by Ryan Bambry, opened against the Chiefs in Taupō on 19 March 2023.

Selection for the New Zealand Under 20 team followed. At the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa that winter he played five games and scored two tries. The first came in the 76th minute of a 62-19 win over Japan in Paarl on 4 July 2023, and the second in the ninth minute of a 50-26 win over Georgia in the seventh-place play-off in Stellenbosch on 14 July 2023. New Zealand finished seventh. Asked by the Highlanders for his favourite rugby memory, he chose representing New Zealand at that tournament.

Otago

Stodart made his NPC debut for Otago in 2023, aged 19, the Highlanders recorded. He played three games that season and scored his first provincial try in a 38-22 win over Counties Manukau at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, on 1 October 2023. He also held one of New Zealand Rugby's national development contracts, the Highlanders recorded, a scheme that lets young players train full-time with a Super Rugby squad in the pre-season.

In 2024 he played all ten of Otago's NPC games and scored three tries. Injuries meant he started the opening game, against Southland at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill on 10 August 2024, in the second row; the Otago Daily Times reported that the "loosie" had been listed to start at lock. Otago lost that one 22-13. His tries came in a 27-25 win over Auckland in Dunedin on 16 August 2024, a 45-17 loss to Counties Manukau at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe on 15 September 2024, and a 47-31 win over Tasman in Dunedin on 28 September 2024. NZ Rugby History lists his 2024 starts as four at No 8, three at lock and one on the flank.

The Highlanders

He was first named in the Highlanders' wider training group for 2024, and on 12 December 2023 he was promoted to the full squad as a replacement player, cover for two injured locks, Mitch Dunshea and Will Tucker. The Otago Daily Times described him as an "aggressive flanker, who can also cover lock".

His debut came off the bench against the Rebels at AAMI Park in Melbourne on 13 April 2024, in a 47-31 loss. Wellington lock Hugo Plummer debuted the same night. The club's team announcement introduced Stodart as a "robust and hard running loose forward" and as the 2023 Highlanders Under 20 captain, and head coach Clarke Dermody said both debutants had been "diligent in their training". He played four games, all from the bench, in 2024, and signed a two-year contract for 2025 and 2026.

In 2025 he played 12 Super Rugby games. Most were from the bench, but the Highlanders started him at No 8 against the Crusaders in the Anzac round at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, on 26 April 2025. The Crusaders won 43-10. NZ Rugby History records two starts at No 8 and one at lock that season.

2025: the breakout and the Shield

The Otago Daily Times called 2025 his "breakout season", and the numbers fit: 12 NPC games and four tries. The first came just before half-time in the opening-round 24-15 win over Southland at Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill, on 2 August 2025. The second, on 5 September 2025 against Northland in Dunedin, came when he barged through a tackle and reached out to score on the half-hour, as the ODT described it, in a 29-10 win.

Then came the Shield. Otago's regular No 8, Christian Lio-Willie, was unavailable for the challenge, and coach Mark Brown moved Stodart to No 8 and made him co-captain alongside Gilbert. Canterbury led 24-14 at half-time and 36-21 with 25 minutes left. Otago came back with tries to Jae Broomfield, Stodart's fellow loose forward Lucas Casey (his second of the night) and hooker Liam Coltman, and Cam Millar's conversion of Coltman's try put them two points ahead with about 15 minutes to play. Otago held on to win 38-36. The ODT noted that Otago's previous Shield tenure, in 2020, had lasted a week. This one lasted until the next winter: Otago beat North Harbour 41-26 in Dunedin on 27 September 2025 to keep it through the summer.

Stodart then scored in both of Otago's play-off wins. In the quarter-final against Waikato in Dunedin on 10 October 2025 he forced his way over from close range in a 44-41 win. In the semi-final against Bay of Plenty in Dunedin on 17 October 2025, in front of 10,764, he reached out to score just before half-time after a series of Lio-Willie carries, and Otago won 41-17. He started the final at blindside flanker and played the full match at Apollo Projects Stadium on 25 October 2025, when Canterbury won 36-28.

2026

Stodart played six Super Rugby games in 2026. He was on the bench for the 25-23 win over the Crusaders in Dunedin on opening day, 13 February 2026, and started at lock against the Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 27 February 2026, a 31-14 loss. The club's profile says he was often used off the bench. On 19 June 2026 he was one of 15 players to extend their contracts, committing to the Highlanders until at least 2028.

He played every one of Otago's 12 NPC games in 2026, without scoring. He started at lock on 9 August 2026 when Canterbury took the Shield back with a 19-15 win at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin. Otago beat Hawke's Bay 50-14 in a quarter-final in Dunedin on 10 October 2026 and lost the semi-final to Northland 38-19 at Semenoff Stadium in Whangārei on 16 October 2026.

Style and standing

At 1.95m and 116kg, Stodart has started at lock, blindside flanker and No 8, and NZ Rugby History lists games in all three positions. The descriptions of him are consistent: "robust and hard running" from the Highlanders, "aggressive" from the ODT in 2023, and a leader with "rugby IQ" from McIntosh at St Andrew's. Captaincy has followed him from his school First XV to the Highlanders Under 20s and a share of the Otago captaincy for the 2025 Shield challenge.

His favourite player, according to his Highlanders profile, is Shannon Frizell, who is returning to the Highlanders for 2027 and joins him in the same loose-forward group.

He has not played Test rugby for any country.

Where he is now

On 28 October 2026 the Highlanders named Stodart in their 2027 squad, in a loose-forward group with Frizell, Joseva Tamani, Lucas Casey, Nikora Broughton, Sean Withy, TK Howden and Veveni Lasaqa. Head coach Jamie Joseph spoke about competition for places. "We don't want players waiting for their turn," he said in the squad announcement. The squad assembles on 26 November 2026, and the Highlanders open their 2027 season against the Fijian Drua in Fiji on 13 February 2027. Stodart goes into it with 22 Super Rugby games behind him and his first Super Rugby try still to come.

Career at a glance

Otago and Highlanders figures to the end of 2025 are from NZ Rugby History; 2026 figures are from RugbyPass match data, which agree with NZ Rugby History for every earlier season.