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Lincoln McClutchie (born 12 April 1999) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a first five-eighth for Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition and San Diego Legion in Major League Rugby.

Early career

McClutchie attended Hastings Boys' High School, where he played First XV rugby alongside future Hawke's Bay teammates Folau Fakatava, Devan Flanders, Danny Toala and Kianu Kereru-Symes. He helped his team to two National Top 4 finals, narrowly losing the first against Mount Albert Grammar School (13 - 14) in 2016, but winning the second against Hamilton Boys' High School 25 to 17 after an undefeated season in 2017.

He played representative rugby for several Hawke's Bay age grade teams, including at U16 level in 2015 and U19 level in 2018.

In 2015, McClutchie was for the first time invited to attend the Hurricanes (U18) Development camp. Both in 2016 and 2017, he was named in the Hurricanes U18 squad to play the Crusaders 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 Lincoln McClutchie, had signed with the union for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. McClutchie made his Magpies debut on 22 September 2018 against North Harbour, starting instead of the regular fly-half, Tiaan Falcon, who had suffered an injury in the previous game.

During the 2019 Super Rugby season, McClutchie was briefly called into the Highlanders squad as injury cover and he also represented the Hurricanes at U20 level. However, despite a second successful season with Hawke's Bay, McClutchie missed out on a contract for the 2020 Super Rugby season.

In November 2019, McClutchie signed with NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Osaka for the 2020 Top League season. Unfortunately, he only played four games for the club. The competition was cancelled after round 6 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and McClutchie returned to New Zealand.

In July 2020, McClutchie re-signed with Hawke's Bay for 2020 and 2021. During the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season, the Magpies won the Ranfurly Shield (taking it off Otago), were successful in three more Ranfurly Shield defences (against Northland, Manawatu and Wellington), and won the Mitre 10 Cup Championship, thus securing a well-deserved promotion to the Premiership division. The Magpies held on to the Shield during the entire 2021 Bunnings NPC season, winning all six Ranfurly Shield defences. McClutchie played an important role in his province's success and his efforts paid off.

On 20 October 2021, Moana Pasifika announced that the new franchise had signed McClutchie for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season. He made his Super Rugby debut for Moana Pasifika in their inaugural game on 4 March 2022 against the Crusaders. He went on to play 20 games for the franchise.

On 8 December 2023, San Diego Legion announced the signing of McClutchie ahead of the 2024 Major League Rugby season. He made his MLR debut for the club in its round 2 game against Dallas Jackals.

International career

In 2016, following his first successful First XV season playing for Hastings Boys' High School, McClutchie was named in the New Zealand Barbarians Schools' team. He captained the team in its first game against Australian Schools, a game the NZ Barbarians Schools' team won 28– 17, with McClutchie scoring one of the tries. After that game, he was promoted to the New Zealand Secondary Schools team and played Australian Schools again, this time coming off the bench. NZ Schools won the game 32 to 22. In the official report of the match series, McClutchie was named as one of the standout performers.

The following year, McClutchie was named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools team for a three-match international series in Australia. He played in all three games, including a 34 – 11 victory over Australian Schools in which he scored one of the tries.

Reference list

1. @hbmagpies (31 July 2024). "Squad 2024". Retrieved 13 August 2024 – via Instagram.
2. ^ @SDLegion (8 December 2023). "Another baller signing with the Legion. Welcome Lincoln McClutchie to the squad" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 December 2023 – via Twitter.
3. "Mount Albert Grammar win national 1st XV title". Stuff New Zealand. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
4. "Hasting Boys' High School complete their perfect season with national 1st XV title". Stuff New Zealand. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
5. "U19 go down to Tasman but not without fight". Hawke's Bay Today. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
6. ^ "Lincoln McClutchie has hard acts to follow in Magpies debut". Hawke's Bay Today. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
7. "Top U18 players selected for development camp". Hurricanes (Press release). 18 June 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
8. "Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council name strong U18 team to play Crusaders U18". College Sport Media. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
9. "Hurricanes Under 18 Team For 2017 Announced". Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
10. "Exciting young talent commits to Hawke's Bay Rugby". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
11. "Utility back reckons his Texans have turned corner". Hawke's Bay Today. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
12. "Hurricanes Under-20 squad named for Chiefs". Hurricanes (Press release). 28 February 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
13. "【リリース】2019年度 新加入選手のお知らせ（追加）". NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes (Press release) (in Japanese). 14 November 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
14. "Japan Rugby Top League 2020 Notice of Cancellation". Japan Rugby Top League (Press release). 23 March 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
15. "Former Hastings Boys' High talent re-signed for Magpies". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (Press release). 23 July 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
16. "Ranfurly Shield roundabout continues". New Zealand Rugby. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
17. "Magpies crowned kings of the Championship". New Zealand Rugby. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
18. "NPC: Hawke's Bay lock away Ranfurly Shield for summer after seeing off Waikato". Stuff NZ. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
19. "Nau mai, haere mai e hoa!". Moana Pasifika (Press release). 20 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
20. "Moana Pasifika named for historic debut against Crusaders" (Press release). Moana Pasifika. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
21. "MLR 2024: Dallas Jackals vs San Diego Legion – ARN Guide". Americas Rugby News. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
22. "NZ Schools and Barbarians Schools teams named". allblacks.com (Press release). 26 September 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
23. "NZ Barbarians Schools side looking to uphold proud record". NZ Herald. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
24. "New Zealand Secondary Schools and Barbarians pick up wins over Fiji and Australia". Stuff NZ. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
25. "NZ Schools set for showdown with Australian Schools". NZ Herald. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
26. "New Zealand Schools and New Zealand Barbarians Results". allblacks.com (Press release). 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
27. "New Zealand Schools' and New Zealand Schools' Barbarians named". Rugby Heartland. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
28. "NZ Schools victorious over Australia Schools". allblacks.com (Press release). 7 October 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2020.

External links

• NZ Rugby History profile
• Top League 2020 player statistics
• Lincoln McClutchie at ItsRugby.co.uk

• 1999 births
• Living people
• Ngāti Porou people
• People educated at Hastings Boys' High School
• New Zealand rugby union players
• Rugby union players from Hawke's Bay
• New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Japan
• New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in the United States
• Rugby union fly-halves
• Hawke's Bay rugby union players
• NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes Osaka players
• Moana Pasifika players
• San Diego Legion players