Finlay Christie

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Finlay Turner Christie (born 19 September 1995) is a Scottish born New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a halfback for Tasman in the Bunnings NPC and the Blues in Super Rugby.^[1][2]

Youth career[]

Christie was born in Scotland, but moved to New Zealand aged 7 and settled down in the city of Pukekohe where he shone both at gymnastics and rugby during his schooldays. Christie attended Saint Kentigern College where he played for the college's top side. He eventually chose to pursue a rugby career and represented Counties Manukau at under 19 level before heading south to Christchurch for university. This decision started to pay off in 2016 when he was awarded the Hawkins Medal as Canterbury's top club rugby player for his performances for the University of Canterbury.^[3]

Bunnings NPC[]

Christie's performances at club level saw him sign with Mitre 10 Cup side Tasman for the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season. Christie made his debut in Round 1 against Waikato at Lansdowne Park in Blenheim scoring a try. He was part of the Tasman side that won the Mitre 10 Cup for the first time in 2019. In Round 9 of the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup Christie played his 50th game for the Mako against Canterbury at Lansdowne Park in Blenheim. The Mako went on to win their second premiership title in a row with Christie playing every minute of the 12–13 victory over Auckland in the final at Eden Park.

Super Rugby[]

Following his impressive first season at provincial level, he signed with Super Rugby side the Chiefs ahead of the 2017 Super Rugby season. At the end of the 2017 season Christie signed with the Hurricanes for the 2018 Super Rugby season. In 2018 Christie made 6 appearances for the Hurricanes scoring a try on debut against the Sunwolves in Wellington. He played a further 8 matches for the Hurricanes in the 2019 Super Rugby season before moving to the Blues for the 2020 Super Rugby season. He was out injured before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic but then played in the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition making his Blues debut against his old team the Hurricanes at Eden Park.^[4] Christie was named in the South Island squad for the North vs South rugby union match in 2020 coming off the bench in a 38–35 win for the South. Christie had an outstanding 2021 Super Rugby season particularly during the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition where he started all of the Blues 6 games as they won the competition with a 23–15 win over the Highlanders in the final.

All Blacks[]

After an outstanding 2021 Super Rugby season Christie was named in the All Blacks squad to play Tonga and Fiji in the July Steinlager Series.^[5] He made his debut against Tonga at Mount Smart Stadium, coming off the bench in a 102–0 win for the All Blacks, becoming All Black number 1196.

References[]