Willi Heinz

Last updated

Willi Heinz
Willi Heinz.jpg
Birth nameWilli Heinz
Date of birth (1986-11-24) 24 November 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth Christchurch, New Zealand
Height181.5 cm (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Weight88 kg (13 st 12 lb; 194 lb)
School Burnside High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2015–2021 Gloucester 100 (90)
2021–2022 Worcester Warriors 6 (10)
Correct as of 29 May 2023
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2009–2014, 2022– Canterbury 82 (76)
Correct as of 28 December 2024
Super Rugby
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2010–2014, 2023–2024 Crusaders 72 (37)
Correct as of 28 December 2024
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2019–2020 England 13 (0)
Correct as of 29 May 2023

Willi Heinz (born 24 November 1986) is a professional rugby union player who currently plays as a scrum-half for Canterbury in the Bunnings NPC. He previously played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and for Gloucester and Worcester Warriors in the Premiership. He has also represented England internationally.

Contents

Early career

Heinz was born in Christchurch, where he attended Burnside High School. He played four years in the school's 1st XV rugby team.

Heinz represented Canterbury at under-18 and under-19 level. [1] [2]

Senior career

After leaving school, he made his Air New Zealand Cup debut for Canterbury against Waikato in 2009 and debuted for the Crusaders during the 2010 Super 14 season. [2]

On 24 February 2015, English Premiership club Gloucester Rugby announced his signing for the start of the 2015–16 season. [3]

On 23 February 2021, after six seasons with Gloucester, Heinz signed with local rivals Worcester Warriors from the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby season. [4] In March 2022, he left the club with immediate effect to return to New Zealand for family reasons. [5]

After arriving back in New Zealand, Heinz played for his local club Burnside RFC and rejoined Canterbury for the 2022 Bunnings NPC. [6]

On 26 October 2022, Heinz was named in the Crusaders squad for the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season [7] and became a Super Rugby champion with the franchise that season. [8] On 29 May 2024, it was confirmed that the 2024 season was to be his last season with the Crusaders. [9]

International career

In May 2017, he was invited to a training camp with the senior England squad by Eddie Jones. [10] Heinz qualifies to represent England through his grandmother. [11]

In August 2019, he was selected as the starting scrum-half and vice-captain for England's first Rugby World Cup warm-up match against Wales. That game marked his international debut for the England national team. [12] The next day, Heinz was named in England's 31-man squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. [13]

Honours

England

Crusaders

Canterbury

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References

  1. ↑ "Who are our greatest rugby exports to Europe? Part One". Radio New Zealand . 13 November 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 "New Canterbury captain Willi Heinz ready to go". Stuff . 16 August 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  3. ↑ "Gloucester have signed Crusaders scrum-half Willi Heinz for 2015-16 season". Sky Sports. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Willi Heinz: Worcester sign Gloucester and England scrum-half for 2021-22". BBC Sport. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "Willi Heinz returns to New Zealand". warriors.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Willi Heinz returns to Canterbury for 2022 season". Canterbury Rugby Union (Press release). 8 June 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "2023 Squad announced". Crusaders (Press release). 26 October 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "Crusaders edge Chiefs, claim seventh straight title". super.rugby. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  9. ↑ "Team naming: One last dance at home for Crusaders Legends". Crusaders (Press release). 29 May 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  10. ↑ "England rugby: Willi Heinz and Jason Woodward selected for training camp". BBC Sport. 14 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  11. ↑ "Heinz honours grandmother with England call-up". Sport24. 10 August 2019. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  12. ↑ "Quilter Internationals: England name team to play Wales". Premiership Rugby. 9 August 2019. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  13. ↑ "England men announce squad for Rugby World Cup". England Rugby (Press release). 12 August 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
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