All Blacks lock Josh Lord could be the Chiefs’ lucky charm after overcoming injury torment
Thursday, 11 June 2026
All Blacks lock Josh Lord has enjoyed his best run of matches for the Chiefs this year after his rotten luck with injuries.
The 25-year-old remarkably missed all four finals the Chiefs have lost in the five seasons.
The Chiefs host the defending champion Crusaders in the first Super Rugby Pacific semifinal in Hamilton on Friday night.
Josh Lord’s luck has changed for the better. The Chiefs will hope his inclusion can also sway fortune their way as genuine jeopardy grips the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs.
The giant 12-test All Blacks lock remarkably missed all four finals the Chiefs lost in the last five seasons — three against those Crusaders, the serial winners who visit Hamilton for Friday night’s huge semifinal clash.
That’s namely because the 25-year-old from one of rugby’s venerated heartlands, King Country, has been sidelined by injury setbacks “stacking up” to blight his development.
And yet, Lord has regularly been picked, when fit, by the All Blacks since his debut in 2021. The Chiefs have also stuck by him through their agonising streak of near-misses that Lord has watched from afar.
“It’s always been a little bit of frustration because I haven’t been able to play. I always feel for the boys because they’ve put in a lot of effort over the years and fallen short,” Lord said.
“I’ve been hurt for them, but it adds fuel to the fire.”
Lord has overcome another kind of anguish that puts the Chiefs’ close calls into some perspective. The disappointment of seemingly endless weeks or months on treatment tables, and away from team-mates, can take a more personal toll.
He recovered to be a starting lock for the All Blacks on last year’s northern tour and exhibited his skill, mobility and athleticism, despite his towering frame, with a memorable break that stunned more than 60,000 Scots.
As Lord skipped over the Edinburgh turf in a test the All Blacks won 25-17, it banished any doubts he might have had about charging at full steam after his injury woes.
“It was a wicked moment,” Lord said. “I was grateful for the opportunity to be fair. I enjoyed being out there with the boys.”
It was the kind of exhilarating moment a younger Lord, raised on his parents’ farm in the tiny King Country town of Ōwhango, south of Taumarunui, would have dreamed of in a region famed for producing Sir Colin Meads, one of the greatest All Blacks in history.
Meads, of course, was a powerful marauding lock from a farming background.
“I’m super proud to come from there. There are lots of awesome athletes in the King Country regions, doing whatever sports they want. We’ve good wood choppers, rugby players, all sorts,” he said.
His father Matt and mother Teresa are still there.
“It’s a pretty wicked upbringing as a kid,” Lord said.
The luckless 2.03m second row had been beset by knee injuries after a ruptured ACL in 2022, with subsequent ankle issues, and even a concussion before last year’s semifinals that prevented him featuring in the Christchurch final they lost 16-12 to the Crusaders.
He said most of his knocks were “unfortunate”.
“I’ve got long limbs. They can get caught all over the place.”
Lord had played just 31 matches over five Super Rugby seasons — and still remained in the All Blacks’ squads on occasion with Ian Foster and Scott Robertson — before his best run of games (13 this campaign) he so desperately craved to vindicate the Chiefs’ support after first emerging as a serious prospect at Hamilton Boys’ High School.
That extends to the All Blacks, too, with Lord signed on a long-term contract with New Zealand Rugby to 2029.
“They’ve put a lot of faith in me, especially the Chiefs here. It’s in my best interest and theirs that I do everything I can to do my job and contribute to the franchise,” Lord said.
Lord spoke with a dry candour about an injury toil that could stunt a promising player’s confidence.
“You learn a lot about yourself, your resilience, and a lot about your body. My warm-up and recovery is a lot different to what it was say five years ago,” Lord said.
“Everyone has their own journey. I believe this is mine. I’ve got to make the most of it and enjoy it.”
He added: “It can be a blessing in disguise. You get an injury on your knee, you spend time on your upper body and getting a bit bigger.
“You’re allowed to dwell and feel down for a day or so, but you’ve got to get better somehow and keep enjoying it.”
Lord and All Blacks lock Tupou Vaa’i have led Super Rugby’s best lineout and exerted the sort of physical output reminiscent of their coach, ex-Chiefs captain Jono Gibbes, in helping them finish behind only the Hurricanes before the playoffs.
How they fit into Dave Rennie’s All Blacks will become clear in the weeks ahead with Scott Barrett’s long-term absence leaving an opening in their second row for the July tests, then the looming tour of South Africa.
Veteran Patrick Tuipulotu and Fabian Holland (on the comeback trail from a shoulder injury) were locks in last year’s squad, too.
Lord’s presence alone could be what the All Blacks need to take on the Springboks and menacing locks such as the revered Eben Etzebeth, Ruan Nortjé or RG Snyman.
Him and Vaa’i would have been happy to see Neil Barnes, their old Taranaki coach and ex-Chiefs assistant, brought into Rennie’s coaching team.
“He’s pretty honest, he’s old school. He says it how it is and that’s probably the feedback I work best with,” Lord said.
“That’s just Neil Barnes, he’s not putting on a mask.”
First, the imposing Crusaders stand between the Chiefs and their fifth final in six years, albeit with no titles to savour since their last in 2013.
Chiefs fans still despairing from their playoff failures will hope Lord is their lucky charm. He was there when they won their first title in Hamilton under Rennie in 2012.
“It would be wicked for the fans who’ve supported us through thick and thin,” Lord said.
Chiefs v Crusaders — Super Rugby Pacific semifinal
Chiefs: Isaac Hutchinson, Liam Coombes-Fabling, Lalakai Foketi, Quinn Tupaea, Kyren Taumoefolau, Damian McKenzie, Cortez Ratima, Simon Parker, Luke Jacobson (capt), Samipeni Finau, Tupou Vaa’i, Josh Lord, Sione Ahio, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Ollie Norris. Reserves: Brodie McAlister, Jared Proffit, George Dyer, Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Kaylum Boshier, Xavier Roe, Josh Jacomb, Leroy Carter.
Crusaders: Johnny McNicholl, Chay Fihaki, Braydon Ennor, David Havili (capt), Sevu Reece, Taha Kemara, Noah Hotham, Christian Lio-Willie, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Ethan Blackadder, Jamie Hannah, Antonio Shalfoon, Fletcher Newell, Codie Taylor, Finlay Brewis. Reserves: Manumau Letiu, Jack Sexton, George Bower, Tahlor Cahill, Dom Gardiner, Kyle Preston, Rivez Reihana, Macca Springer.