Xavier Numia: the midfield back turned loosehead who waited years for the All Blacks

Xavier Numia will not be in the 23 at Murrayfield this weekend, but the loosehead from Wellington's eastern suburbs is on the northern tour with the All Blacks at the end of a year that has brought him a Super Rugby title with the Hurricanes, a place in the competition's Team of the Season, and six Tests in his first season in black. It took him a long time to get there. He started out as a midfield back, and two knee operations and a run of other injuries cost him large parts of his early career. This is his story.

Ories and St Pat's Town

Numia was born in Wellington on 29 November 1998 and grew up in the city's eastern suburbs, where his rugby began in the juniors at Oriental-Rongotai. The NZ Rugby Museum describes him as a "loyal and passionate" member of the club. Growing up, he watched his cousins and uncles play premier club rugby, and that became the goal, he told ClubRugby.nz in 2022. One of his junior team-mates was Alex Fidow, the future Wellington and Hurricanes prop.

In those days Numia was a back. He played in the midfield through intermediate school and into St Patrick's College, Wellington (St Pat's Town), until around Year 11 or 12. Then the competition for places changed his path. "He pretty much kicked me out of the midfield and into the front row," Numia said of his school team-mate Billy Proctor, now a Hurricanes and All Blacks centre. The idea of moving him to loosehead came from one of his coaches, Sonny Whitman, the father of his close friend Keelan Whitman. Numia called it "an inspired decision".

His final school year, 2016, brought honours. St Pat's Town reached the Wellington premiership final, losing 12-9 to Wellington College at Jerry Collins Stadium. In October he played for a New Zealand Secondary Schools side coached by Jason Holland in wins over Fiji Schools and Australia Schools, and he was named College Sport Wellington's Rugby Player of the Year, ahead of Proctor and Naitoa Ah Kuoi.

Setbacks

That final school season also brought the first of his injuries. His knee had been troubling him all year, and he needed surgery on a meniscus tear, which delayed the start of his senior rugby by six months. He rehabilitated through the summer, came back through the Ories Colts, and made his premier debut for the club in April 2017 in a famous 30-30 Anzac Day draw with Poneke at the Polo Ground.

An ankle injury in early 2018 cost him part of the New Zealand Under 20 campaign, but he recovered to make the squad for the World Rugby Under 20 Championship, played three matches and saw the team knocked out 32-31 by South Africa in the semi-finals. A back injury followed late in 2019, and early in 2020, in his second game back for the Hurricanes, he tore his meniscus again. With the country going into its first Covid-19 lockdown, he could not get surgery straight away, and his Super Rugby season was over. Coming back from the second knee operation in particular, he said, was "definitely a tough time for me".

The Museum's profile puts it simply: his eventual All Blacks selection was a testament to his character and focus after overcoming a number of injuries early in his career.

Wellington

Numia made his debut for the Wellington Lions against Southland in 2018. Making his debut for the Lions "was something special", he said, and the Hurricanes record that he was the Lions' Rookie of the Year that season. He returned from his second knee operation in September 2020 to play eight games for Wellington, seven of them at loosehead. Wikipedia lists 81 games for the province.

On 22 October 2022 he started at loosehead, with Asafo Aumua at hooker, in the NPC final against Canterbury in Christchurch. Wellington won 26-18, their first NPC title since 2000, to sit alongside the Ranfurly Shield.

The Hurricanes

Numia was training with the Hurricanes as injury cover at the start of 2019 when, at a Monday team meeting, he heard his name read out on the bench for the opening game. "They came up to the bench and my name popped up at 17," he recalled. He made his Super Rugby debut against the Waratahs in Sydney on 16 February 2019 and became Hurricane No 258. He played nine more games that year.

After losing 2020 to injury, he played all 13 of the Hurricanes' games in 2021, starting 10. In May 2024 he ran about 30 metres to score a solo try against the Chiefs. A month later, as Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw recalled in 2026, he looked set for an All Blacks call-up, but "blew his calf in the semi-final and ended up missing out".

The wait ended in 2026. The Hurricanes finished top of the table, became the first team in Super Rugby history to pass 100 tries in a season and met the Chiefs in the final in Wellington on 20 June. Numia started at loosehead, with Aumua and Pasilio Tosi beside him, and played 58 minutes as the Hurricanes won 60-5, the biggest winning margin in a Super Rugby final and the club's first title since 2016. He was named in the Super Rugby Pacific Team of the Season, and the Museum calls him "a cornerstone" of the title-winning side. Wikipedia counts 92 Hurricanes appearances by July 2026.

The All Blacks XV

Before the full All Blacks came the second-string national side. Numia toured with the All Blacks XV in 2023 and 2024, winning three caps, according to the Hurricanes, and was named again for the All Blacks XV's 2025 tour of Europe under coach Jamie Joseph.

All Black No 1233

Two days after the Super Rugby final, on 22 June 2026, Dave Rennie named his first All Blacks squad, and Numia was one of the new caps, alongside his Hurricanes team-mates Fehi Fineanganofo and Josh Moorby. "He's had to show some real patience and resilience," Laidlaw said. "He's an outstanding rugby player."

Rennie's first Test as coach was against France at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch on 4 July 2026. Numia was on the bench in the No 17 jersey and came on to win his first cap as the All Blacks won 34-32. Fineanganofo and lock Jamie Hannah also made their debuts. Afterwards Numia was photographed holding the Gallaher Trophy.

He came off the bench again in the 40-21 win over Ireland at Eden Park, and went on the South Africa tour, where he started at loosehead in the 50-19 win over the Bulls in Pretoria and also played against the Lions in Johannesburg. He came off the bench in the Tests in Cape Town, at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg and in Baltimore, all three of which the Springboks won, and in the 43-21 Bledisloe Cup win in Sydney on 17 October. That makes six Tests, all from the bench, three won and three lost.

Style and standing

The Museum's profile highlights Numia's powerful ball-carrying and athleticism, alongside his conversion from the midfield. He is listed at 189cm and 111kg. Off the field, Numia told ClubRugby.nz in 2022 that he had done some building work and saw it as a possible career after rugby.

Where he is now

Numia is one of six props in the All Blacks' 36-man squad for the northern tour. He is not in the match-day 23 for the Test against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday morning NZ time, with Ethan de Groot starting at loosehead and George Bower on the bench, but Wales in Cardiff, England at Twickenham and the Nations Championship finals weekend in London are still to come.

Career at a glance

Test figures are from RUGBE's match-by-match All Blacks data to 17 October 2026.