Harry Godfrey opens up on ‘frustrating’ injury setbacks and NPC return

Hawke’s Bay sit in top spot on the NPC standings after two rounds, piling on more than 100 points across commanding wins over Wellington and Tasman. Harry Godfrey has played an integral role in that early-season success, making another promising return from an injury spell.

Godfrey was made to wait 330 days between competitive matches after suffering a significant injury during a training session with the Magpies. The first five-eighth missed most of last year’s NPC season and the entire 2026 Super Rugby Pacific campaign.

Both Hawke’s Bay and the Hurricanes announced last October that Godfrey has been struck down by an ACL injury. The Magpies had been running shape at training when the now 23-year-old twisted backwards to catch a ball, bus his knee buckled from beneath him.

“I’m quite an optimistic fella,” Godfrey would later say, despite going “down in a heap.” The pain eased a couple of minutes later, so the young playmaker got back up and started running around, only for his knee to swell up overnight.

It was the second major injury in a matter of months for Godfrey, who had started the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season as the starting 10 at the Hurricanes. Ruben Love made a couple of starts at fullback, while Godfrey had been one of the form competition standouts.

“It is frustrating,” Godfrey told RugbyPass.

“That first year of Super when I was playing 10, I strung a few alright games together and then had a bit of an ongoing ankle injury. I ended up getting that operated on as well as when I did my ACL. I was legless for a while.

“It is frustrating. You get a good start and then you get a setback. I suppose learning a lot about my body through that injury and then maturing a bit, focusing on like really getting my body right… now just hoping to stay fit and healthy for the NPC and win with the Magpies.”

Godfrey didn’t get to play at all during the Hurricanes’ run to a drought-breaking Super Rugby title last season, capped off with an utterly relentless 60-5 demolition of the Chiefs at Wellington’s Hnry Stadium.

Meanwhile, Godfrey returned to the rugby field with premier grade team Taradale. The Napier-based side went on to win their own championship decider, with Godfrey coming off the bench in a 54-24 win over Napier Old Boys’ Marist at McLean Park.

That opportunity to play in a regular-season game for Taradale, followed by the semi-final and the Grand Final, paved the way for Godfrey’s return to the Magpies. The pivot featured in a couple of pre-season games before kicking off the NPC with a bang.

“It was real mint. First game back in a while for the Magpies. It’s just good to get down there and I suppose get the monkey off the back with the first one,” Godfrey said.

“I played a few games of club before. I came back to Hawke’s Bay and played for Taradale, won the final. Played a regular season game and then played semi-final and final. Got the two-pre-season games under my belt.

“I just take a lot of confidence from the rehab that I’ve done, the physios that I had down in Wellington.

“The first club game back was a bit scary because it was about seven and a half months and then coming back… you just go into contact and you’re a bit like, ‘Oh, sh**.’ But after a few games in and you get more under your belt, you just gain more confidence.”

Godfrey was named Hawke’s Bay fan-voted MVP on Monday, having starred as the Magpies overcame the Mako in round two. But before that, it was almost fitting that after missing the Hurricanes season, Godfrey’s return would come down in the nation’s capital.

The Whanganui Collegiate School First XV product ran out onto Hnry Stadium in Hawke’s Bay’s famous black and white strip, setting up two tries and producing a 12-point haul with some sharp-shooting accuracy off the goal-kicking tee.

Hawke’s Bay followed that 52-33 win over Wellington with another statement 50-19 triumph over Tasman at McLean Park. Godfrey was voted best on ground by Magpies fans, having beaten two defenders, slotted five conversions, and kicked for more than 180 metres.

“We had a strong pre-season with the Magpies. We had a lot of club players so they were right there from the start, and then the Super boys just filtered in as they returned,” he said.

“It was awesome, especially down in Wellington against Wellington, to put a performance like that on; it was just awesome attacking rugby.

“I think our defence probably needed a little touch on, which we’ve touched on for the week, but the way we’re wanting to play this year, we want to back our skillsets, we want to play at a fast tempo. If we can do that really well, we can be pretty dangerous.”