Willi Heinz

Willi Heinz (born 24 November 1986) is a professional rugby union player who currently plays as a scrum-half for Canterbury in the Bunnings NPC. He previously played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and for Gloucester and Worcester Warriors in the Premiership. He has also represented England internationally.

Willi Heinz

Birth name	Willi Heinz
Date of birth	(1986-11-24) 24 November 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Christchurch, New Zealand
Height	181.5 cm (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Weight	88 kg (13 st 12 lb; 194 lb)
School	Burnside High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2015–2021 Gloucester 100 (90) 2021–2022 Worcester Warriors 6 (10) Correct as of 29 May 2023 Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 2009–2014, 2022– Canterbury 82 (76) Correct as of 28 December 2024 Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 2010–2014, 2023–2024 Crusaders 72 (37) Correct as of 28 December 2024 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2019–2020 England 13 (0) Correct as of 29 May 2023

Early career

Heinz was born in Christchurch, where he attended Burnside High School. He played four years in the school's 1st XV rugby team.

Heinz represented Canterbury at under-18 and under-19 level.^[1][2]

Senior career

After leaving school, he made his Air New Zealand Cup debut for Canterbury against Waikato in 2009 and debuted for the Crusaders during the 2010 Super 14 season.^[2]

On 24 February 2015, English Premiership club Gloucester Rugby announced his signing for the start of the 2015–16 season.^[3]

On 23 February 2021, after six seasons with Gloucester, Heinz signed with local rivals Worcester Warriors from the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby season.^[4] In March 2022, he left the club with immediate effect to return to New Zealand for family reasons.^[5]

After arriving back in New Zealand, Heinz played for his local club Burnside RFC and rejoined Canterbury for the 2022 Bunnings NPC.^[6]

On 26 October 2022, Heinz was named in the Crusaders squad for the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season^[7] and became a Super Rugby champion with the franchise that season.^[8] On 29 May 2024, it was confirmed that the 2024 season was to be his last season with the Crusaders.^[9]

International career

In May 2017, he was invited to a training camp with the senior England squad by Eddie Jones.^[10] Heinz qualifies to represent England through his grandmother.^[11]

In August 2019, he was selected as the starting scrum-half and vice-captain for England's first Rugby World Cup warm-up match against Wales. That game marked his international debut for the England national team.^[12] The next day, Heinz was named in England's 31-man squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.^[13]

Honours

England

• Rugby World Cup
  • Runner-up: 2019

• Six Nations Championship
  • Champion: 2020

Crusaders

• Super Rugby
  • Champion: 2023

Canterbury

• Air New Zealand Cup
  • Champion: 2009

• ITM Cup
  • Champion: 2010

• ITM Cup Premiership Division
  • Champion: 2011, 2012, 2013