Devan Flanders (born 20 July 1999) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who currently plays as a loose forward for the in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

and in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition.

Early career

Devan Flanders attended

Hastings Boys' High School Hastings Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school in Hastings, New Zealand. The school is part of the Super 8. The school was founded in 1904 as Hastings High School. In 1922, it became Hastings Technical School under the leadership of Wi ...

, where he played First XV rugby alongside future teammates

Folau Fakatava Folau Fakatava (born 16 December 1999) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for the in Super Rugby and in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition. Early career Fakatava was born in Nuk ...

, Lincoln McClutchie,

Danny Toala Danny Toala (born 26 March 1999) is a professional rugby union player, who currently plays as a midfield back or fullback for in Super Rugby. He was born and raised in New Zealand, but has represented Manu Samoa internationally, for which he ...

and

Kianu Kereru-Symes Kianu Kereru-Symes (born 28 February 1999) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a hooker or Prop for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition and the New England Free Jacks in Major League ...

. He helped his team to two National Top 4 finals, narrowly losing the first against

Mount Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in ...

(13 - 14) in 2016, but winning the second against

Hamilton Boys' High School Hamilton Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand and is the largest secondary school in the Waikato region. The school was established as Hamilton High School in 1911 but was later split into separate boys' and gir ...

25 to 17 after an undefeated season in 2017. Flanders was named man of the match following that victory. In 2017, Flanders was named in the Hurricanes U18 team.

Senior career

On 7 August 2017, the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union announced that four players of that year's successful Hastings Boys' High School First XV side, including Devan Flanders, had signed with the union for 2018 and 2019. Flanders made his Magpies debut on 19 August 2018 against Southland and earned his first start against Canterbury on 30 September 2018. He cemented himself as a regular starter for the Magpies in the following seasons. He has since re-signed with Hawke's Bay for 2020 and 2021. Flanders signed his first contract with the for the 2020 season and made his

debut for the franchise on 2 February 2020 against the . He scored his first try for the Hurricanes during their

Super Rugby Aotearoa Super Rugby Aotearoa currently named the Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa for sponsorship purposes is a professional men's rugby union national club competition in New Zealand. Originally created to supplement the 2020 Super Rugby season, which was sus ...

game against the on 12 July 2020. On 26 June 2020, the Hurricanes announced that Flanders had re-signed with the franchise for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Two years later, he-resigned for a further two seasons.

International career

After his last year at Hastings Boys' High School, Flanders was named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools team for a three-match international series in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He started in all three games, including a 34 - 11 victory over Australian Schools. For his outstanding performance during the series Flanders was rewarded with the Jerry Collins Memorial Bronze Boot. Flanders was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 side that competed in the

Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship The Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship is an international rugby union competition organised by Oceania Rugby, which is the regional governing body for rugby in Oceania. It is contested by men's junior national teams with an under-20 age requir ...

and the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in 2018 and 2019.

Reference list

External links

NZ Rugby History profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanders, Devan 1999 births Living people People educated at Hastings Boys' High School New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from Hastings, New Zealand Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Hurricanes (rugby union) players Hawke's Bay rugby union players