Cohen Norrie: 'I’ve always dreamed of playing for Auckland'

He made seven appearances in his debut season for Auckland last year, starting three of the last four games. The first was a 52-29 win against Manawata, where he scored a try and earned man-of-the-match despite being notified only 10 minutes before kickoff that he was playing.

Norrie won the Auckland Emerging Player of the Year and was identified as one of the Most Promising Players of the Year in the New Zealand Rugby Almanack. Yet Auckland were awful, winning only two of ten matches, the worst season the 17-time champions have endured in 50 years of the NPC.

“The results were below the standards the city set for us,” Norrie told RugbyPass.

“The group took the losses harshly, and there’s definitely a lot of lessons we’ve learned and are determined to grow from this year.

“Personally, I’ve always dreamed of playing for Auckland. Having the opportunity to become a fulltime rugby player was a huge lesson and privilege.

“I can remember going to Eden Park as a kid for rivalry games against Canterbury, Waikato and Wellington and wanting to pull on the blue and white.  It was special to get my debut. I just wanted to be a sponge and soak up as much knowledge as I could. Once I started getting my third or fourth game, I started to feel like I had something to contribute.”

The New Zealand Under-20s first-five or fullback has just returned from the World Rugby Junior Championships in Georgia. If he replicates his form from that event in the NPC, the future is bright.

Norrie played all five games for New Zealand, scoring twice in the 36-26 win against Scotland, again in the 45-15 win against Italy, and producing a sparkling display in the 41-26 win against England for third. A try he set up for Auckland teammate Siale Pahulu would make any decent highlights reel.

New Zealand fell short of winning for the first time since 2017, losing narrowly to Six Nations Grand Slam champions France 26-22 in the semi-final. They conceded a length-of-the-field try in the 77th minute while leading 22-19.

“Looking back, it still seems harsh. It was a really good kick, long into their half of the field; It was like what we do to teams, sudden, long-range attack. The classic French flair got us. I couldn’t quite believe it when they broke the line. Credit to them though. It was an awesome try,” Norrie said.

It was also the only line-break France made the whole match.

”We spoke at length about preventing them from getting inside our 22, being disciplined and stopping the rolling maul. We made too many errors. That was disappointing. Still, when Mika Muliaina kicked that penalty, I thought we might have done enough. It just shows you can’t switch off against France.

”It took a couple of days to get over it, but we had to come together as a group, take lessons from it and prepare for the England game like any other international. It was important to win that game and set up a better opportunity for next year’s team with a higher seeding. We’ll have up to ten guys back. It’s going to be a strong team.”

Following a first-ever loss to Argentina (17-25) in May in the Under-20 Rugby Championship, New Zealand looked set for an arduous struggle. Instead, there was significant improvement. Norrie believes the loss to Argentina was due to a relative lack of preparation and marked a turning point in the standard required.

Norrie was among the senior leadership group. His performances at fullback were electric, but he prefers running the cutter from ten.

”I like being close to the action, having more involvement and setting up the game tactically for those on my outside,” Norrie said.

”Georgia was a cool experience. Not many Kiwis go to Eastern Europe at 19. There were thunderstorms in the middle of summer, then 35-degree days. The food was pretty good; heaps of diversity in Georgia.”

Norrie enjoyed an epic tenure in the Sacred Heart College First XV. In 2023, he was the starting fullback on the team that won the 1A championship for the first time since 1965.

Filmmaker and 1983 head prefect Kelsen Butler was so moved by the success that he produced a television documentary, Sacred: A Rugby Story for the Ages, which featured in-depth conversation with Norrie.

“That was a big moment for everybody, especially the wider community who are massive supporters. It’s pretty surreal to be able to say I was part of the first team to win 1A in 58 years,” Norrie reflected.

With a mass exodus of talent, repeating would be an unenviable task. Sacred Heart lost three of their first seven matches but, fueled by Norrie’s stardust in his preferred position of first five-eighth, were resurgent in the last month of the regular season, winning four straight to reach the semi-finals.

Norrie scored breathtaking hat tricks in slayings of King’s College (48-24) and St Paul’s College (71-5). His favourite win was a 37-32 conquest of St Peter’s College at the Cage.

“That was a back-and-forth game. We started well and then succumbed to pressure. On full-time it was 32-all, and we put together 23 phases and scored,” Norrie recalled.

He ended up being selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team and was the Kiwi recipient of the Bronze Boot award in the 38-31 loss to Australia in Hamilton for the “most constructive player in a schools series.” The award has been won by All Blacks such as Carlos Spencer, Jerry Collins and Ardie Savea.

His brother Finn Norrie is an Auckland Under-19 representative and helped Grammar Tec make the Gallaher Shield final this year.

Meanwhile, Auckland starts their 2026 NPC campaign with a daunting trip to Te Kaha/One New Zealand Stadium to face defending champions Canterbury.

Auckland fielded 35 players last year, 10 of whom were debutants while 13 were born in 2004 or after.

A quick scan of the 2026 roster reveals more experience. In the front row, Ofa Tu’ungafasi and Angus Ta’avao-Matau are All Blacks. Josh Beehre is an All Blacks XV lock. Halfback Taufa Funaki has plenty of Super Rugby experience with the Blues, while Caleb Tangitau was a star for the Highlanders on the wing. Midfield back Pita Ahki won 116 of 159 of his matches with Toulouse in France.

Norrie will look to enhance his growing reputation alongside recent New Zealand Under 20 selections Rico Simpson, Xavier Tito-Harris, Harlyn Saunoa and King Maxwell.