Highlanders lock in five re-signings as Joseph builds Super Rugby's youngest core

The Highlanders have wasted no time entering off-season mode, confirming five re-signings that reinforce coach Jamie Joseph’s commitment to building one of Super Rugby Pacific’s youngest and most promising squads.

Four of the five deals are two-year extensions, keeping the club’s emerging core together through at least the 2027 season. Hooker Henry Bell, 26, is the exception, having agreed to a one-year extension — his fourth year at the club — after a stint with Utah in Major League Rugby in 2023.

Bell’s primary competition for the starting hooker jersey, Jack Taylor, 22, has secured two more years with his home province. Taylor enjoyed a breakthrough 2026 campaign alongside props Ethan de Groot and Angus Ta’avao, and holds two All Blacks XV caps from the side’s 2025 tour.

Second row Will Stoddart, 22, has also committed his future to blue and gold. The lock has made 22 appearances across his three-year career at the club, including four starts, and figures to grow into a more prominent role as the squad matures.

The most capped of the group, loose forward Sean Withy, 25, will remain in Dunedin until at least 2028. Withy made his All Blacks XV debut last year and has accumulated 54 Highlanders caps, anchoring a back-row unit that is set to be bolstered by the return of Shannon Frizell in 2027.

Rounding out the quintet is fullback Finn Hurley, 22, who has signed a two-year extension despite an injury-interrupted career to date. Hurley showed his potential in just nine appearances, most memorably scoring two tries in a win over the Blues in only his second start, before a quadriceps injury cut short his 2025 campaign. The new deal gives him the runway to finally deliver on that early promise.