The many talents and miraculous story of Blues lock Laghlan McWhannell
The household of Laghlan McWhannell was divided last week when the Blues played Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby Pacific at Eden Park.
McWhannell is flatmates with fellow Blues lock James Thomspon who didn’t feature and Moana Pasifika flanker Jacob Norris who started on the blindside for the hosts.
The trio attended St Peter’s Cambridge together and the banter was free-flowing.
“It’s their local derby. We could ill afford to underestimate these guys. They’ve got firepower across the park and they’ve been tracking quite well,” McWhannell told RugbyPass.
Moana Pasifika has doubled their win tally from last season. In 2023 they were denied victory against the Blues (31-30) when they conceded a penalty try with the last play of the game.
On Saturday the Blues had no such issues. A resounding 47-8 victory saw All Blacks winger Mark Telea score three tries and the Blues climb to second in the standings. Dishes and vanilla milkshakes the whole week is the flat penalty for Norris.
McWhannell has featured in all six matches for the Blues in 2024, gaining four consecutive starts. Last Saturday the Blues defeated the Crusaders 26-6 to improve to 4-1 and achieve their first win at Eden Park against the defending championships since 2014. The Crusaders failed to score a try for the first time in 145 matches.
“That was my first home game at Eden Park. That’s special for me, especially against the Crusaders who we’ve only beaten once in the last 19 games. Patrick Tuipulotu celebrated his century. It was an awesome day all around,” McWhannell enthused.
“I’m happy to finally string some games together. I’ve got an injury list as long as my arm. I love the environment in Auckland.”
McWhannell is the Blues’ most prolific source of lineout possession. His increasing physicality is adding greater starch to an improving Blues pack.
On a dreary Wednesday night in 2017, McWhannell made his NPC debut for Waikato against Auckland at Eden Park. He was 18 years old and marked All Black Tuipulotu. His parents presented his jersey and the visitors won 35-27.
The 2018 New Zealand Under 20 representative won the Ranfurly Shield later that year. In 2019 McWhannell was set to debut for the Chiefs after Michael Allardice broke his ankle against the Highlanders in Dunedin. That injury happened on the night of May 4. In a crushing coincidence, McWhannell suffered the same injury while playing club rugby for Hautapu that afternoon.
“I was tackled from behind and my ankle twisted inwards. I tapped it up but when I ran off the next scum I heard a pop and snap and tore ligaments off the bone. The Chiefs coach hadn’t heard about it when he called to offer me a place in the team. I was gone for six months,” McWhannell reflected.
In 2021 McWhannell was on the brink of quitting rugby altogether. He credits Waikato coach and former All Blacks lock Ross Fillipo with saving his career.
“Ross called me before the NPC in and asked me how I was feeling. I told him I can’t do this anymore.
“I’d finished my second knee surgery and the pain was insufferable, like having glass in my knees.
“Ross took all the pressure off me by asking me about my mental health. He assured me my well-being was a priority, not my place in his rugby ambitions. That was huge.
“I’d heard of guys having terrible injuries. I never thought that would be me.
“I’ve basically got a buggered patellar tendon. For a while, all my confidence was gone. I was worried about doing it in the warm-up, in the game, and even coming down the steps of the bus.
“I made my Super Rugby debut for the Chiefs against the Highlanders in Queenstown in 2022. It took four years for me to make my Super debut.”
The Chiefs won that match 26-16 and all six appearances in which McWhannell featured thereafter. Such long stints on the sideline, however, saw him tumble down the Chiefs pecking order.
McWhannell isn’t somebody to stay still. While injured he became a barista not because he drinks coffee but because he wanted to make a good hot chocolate. He pursued a dive master certificate, cooking classes, World Rugby coaching certificates, attended public speaking courses, worked for a charity, and developed a near Sir Elton John-like obsession with finding the perfect piano.
“I wanted to learn piano so I bought a secondhand one in Taupo. The night I picked that one up, I forgot to cancel an auto-bid for one I had on Trade Me in Auckland. Suddenly I had two pianos in the garage.
“Down the road in Cambridge I saw a piano I thought was better than the first two. I thought I’d get this one and sell the first two. Eventually, I settled with the first one.
“I don’t know how to play anything, Chopsticks maybe. Piano is one of those things if you don’t use it, you lose it, a bit like a rolling maul,” McWhannell laughed.
McWhannell was born and raised in Kawakawa Bay which he described as “tiny” and “somewhere halfway inside Thames and Waiheke Island.” His father Malcolm is a Piling Manager at Heron Construction which undertakes large design, logistics, and maintenance projects with water. Mum Julie maintains the books.
Boarding at St Peter’s Cambridge, which to an outsider could resemble Hogwarts, McWhannell threw himself full throttle into water polo, athletics, swimming, claybird shooting, and of course rugby. He played for the First XV from 2014 to 2016 which became a growing force nationally. In 2016 St Peter’s qualified for the National Top Four co-education tournament for the first time. The following two years St Peter’s won the tourney.
“Cam Rogiard, Samipeni Finau, Simon Packer, Ollie Norris, Jacob Norris, James Thompson, Ryan Coxon, there are a few guys who’ve made it lately,” McWhannell said.
“A lot of the credit for that belongs to the coach Shaun Honnick. He was especially helpful for me having played lock for Waikato and the Chiefs. He has a lot of knowledge to pass onto the young fellas who looked up to him because he’d been there and done that.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Great role model.
2 Go to commentsOne significant tell, not a single Waratahs player stopped to whinge to the ref about Finau’s tackle. They got on with playing the game. Great tackle.
8 Go to commentsWouldn’t be a bad move if Ireland pulled into SA with a young side. Particularly in Pretoria. Invaluable experience getting thumped in the bosveld.
60 Go to commentsIreland. The Princess Diana of Rugby. I never cheered so much for a team as i did for the All Blacks in that QF.
60 Go to commentsWill be great to see the Leinster first XV back in action again after their cotton wool time…
1 Go to commentsLooked up Grant Constable on google and reply was doppelgänger for Ben Smith
60 Go to commentsIt is so good that we now all get excited and debate who is best and emotionally get involved. We all back our teams which is great. Up until about 15-20 years ago, NZ was basically on its own, and then Saffa, Aussie and sometimes French and English were there. We now have at least 5-6 really top sides and another 4 who keep improving. This is so healthy. So we should not resort to rubbish comments and unhealthy debate, but rather all be chuffed that the product we watch is not competitive, exciting and often uncertain. It would be so good if World Rugger could find a way to align the rules to professional players as well as spectators. Live rugby games are SO boring as there is SO much down time as we wait for refs and TMOs and whoever else to look at every small event going back endless phases with the hope of eventually find a minute infringement to then decide cancel what was a wonderful try. This is the ultimate cork back in the bottle moment and feels like every balloon is always being popped. Come on- we must be better with the rules.
60 Go to comments“upon leaving said establishment I tripped over a stool knocking some bottles into the air and as I fell I accidently dislodged a police officer’s teaser who was passing by on an unrelated matter there by landing on said taser which caused it to discharge 50,000 watts into me. Out of shock I shouted Ireland are going to win the world cup. Upon waking up I apologised for the distress caused by my Ireland comment. The matter is closed. If you wish to pursue this matter may I remind you what I told Wayne Barnes when he sent me off. I AM A BIG ASS MAN”. Or was it “I AM A BIG ASS, MAN” or was it “I AM A BIG ASSMAN”?
2 Go to commentsThe only championship the Boks hold are: Great value for the incompetence of referees during the RWC Moaning endlessly and champions of spewing utterly ignorant 💩 at all times. Displaying the dangers of a third world education End of.
60 Go to commentsSouth Africa and Rassie do a phenomenal job of treating the 4 years in between World Cups as nothing more than a training exercise to build squad depth. The Six Nations money that keeps Irish rugby afloat is unfortunately too important to allow the same approach, and basic population size means we'll never get close to matching the depth of South Africa, England and France. That being said, Irish rugby is in a relatively good place and slowly improving inch by inch. If the other three provinces can pull the finger out and actually develop some players it'd be even better.
60 Go to commentsGood on Clarke for taking on the criticism and addressing his deficiencies, principally his laziness.
2 Go to comments“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.” Why did Darcy make that joke knowing it would be used as click bait? Why did RP headline it as a serious comment? Anyway, the tired comment isn’t very astute. SA players may have played more games etc. Darcy over estimated as a pundit.
60 Go to commentsNot sure Frisch will ever make the French team with Depoortère and Costes waiting in the wings to take over from Danty and Fickou.
1 Go to commentsThe Irish are tired and the Boks are old. The test series won't confirm who is best in the world, it will confirm which team needs to pursue the task of rebuilding with the most urgency.
60 Go to commentsGrant, the first time I have seen an article written by you. Maybe I have missed your previous stuff. These days all professional players effectively play a common season so all top players are equally tired, or rested. That is the job of the coaching ticket to build squad depth and juggle resources so players are ‘ fresh’ when the big games come. Possibly Ireland are less inclined to juggle squad compared to Rassie, who is prepared to take the risk to rest players as well as build depth throughout the year so come WC he has a full squad, experienced and rested enough to win 7 games. After all, to win WC you need to get through the tournament and then win the final big 3 games. Ireland should try and build a bit so come final 3 they are ready. So far only played final 1(QF). I am so looking forward to the Irish tour. Hopefully Rassie has enough time to align his guys, as he draws them from across the globe, and not from 2 sides locally( eg Leinster, Munster). No excuses, going to be exciting.
60 Go to commentsIn football, teams get fined and sometimes docked points for deliberately fielding weakened teams yet Leinster can pretty much do as they please with no comebacks. Could it be because Ireland run the URC? Could it be that Ireland run the ERC? Whichever it is, it stinks!!
6 Go to commentsIreland are only the People’s Champions in Irish eyes. The rest of the world do not care for them very much because of attitudes of people like Gordon, Ferris, Best, Jackman…I could go on!!
60 Go to commentsNot sure how Karl Dickson can ever ref a Quins game, he played for the club for 8 years as understudy to Care and is still close friends with half the team
3 Go to commentsAre bookies taking bets on how many times Vunipola's eventual statement will use the term “elders"? My money is on at least 4 times.
4 Go to commentsSo Ireland will be tired, despite having the most rested test squad in the world. They only play tests, champions cup and urc play off games ffs! Case in point; Leinster sent a B squad to SA for their last two games while their first xv rested up and trained at their leisure for the sf vs Saints at the so called ‘neutral venue’ of Croke Park. So tired? Do me a favour… And as for “people’s champions”? Seriously??? Outside of Ireland they are respected for their ability to win 6N. And of course plenty of inconsequential test friendlies without any real pressure. WC ko games when the pressure is white hot? Not so much…
60 Go to comments