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.”