How Adam Lennox went from Whanganui schoolboy to Super Rugby standout

His dad, Guy Lennox, was a seasoned rugby player and coach in the region; playing more than 100 games for Whanganui, scoring 700-plus points and captaining the side for a few seasons.

Guy coached Whanganui from 2008 to 2010 and won the Meads Cup in 2008.

Adam attended Waverley Primary School, Huntley School and Whanganui Collegiate School.

At Collegiate, he played in the rugby, hockey and cricket top sides, but said there was no Jordie Barrett-like decision to be made about which sport to pursue.

“They are all quite different, I guess ... I actually really enjoyed hockey, it was one of my favourite sports at school, I probably played more of that than rugby,” Lennox said.

“I definitely wasn’t that good, I just found it fun and a muck-around.”

Lennox played First XV for his final two years in 2019 and 2020 and formed a formidable partnership with long-time friend and Hurricanes first five-eighth, Harry Godfrey.

In years 9 and 10, Lennox and Godfrey would line up in the midfield together and “swap around against the big teams”, Lennox said.

His time at Collegiate was “good fun”.

“I’m still mates with all my mates from school now, which is good,” he said.

“Looking back, school looks a lot easier than what we’re doing now.”

Lennox played for the under-13, under-14 and under-15 Whanganui representative teams and was selected for the NZ Barbarians under-18 team, with Godfrey, in 2020.

He said his parents were big in influencing him to pursue rugby as a career.

Visiting a number of potential provinces with Godfrey in Year 13 further encouraged him to continue, Lennox said.

“After doing that and seeing what it was about, I thought it looked like quite a cool path to go down,” he said.

A significant injury in 2020 resulted in Lennox adding some weight to his frame in time for his first experience with NPC rugby.

“I had to get bigger but I broke my leg right at the end of school so for the first two months I was up [in Taranaki], I couldn’t do anything,” he said.

“I was just eating and I put on a lot of weight, probably around 10 kilos or like a kilo a week, which helped a lot.”

Lennox made his debut for Taranaki in 2022 against Bay of Plenty and has since played 43 games for the province.

That year, he also made the New Zealand Under-20s side that went undefeated in the Oceania Under-20 Championship.

On March 28, 2025, Lennox made his debut for the Highlanders against the Brumbies after being brought in from the wider training squad for injury cover.

He landed a fulltime contract for the 2026 season and played all 14 games, scoring five tries.

He has played 21 games for the side and scored seven tries.

Lennox said he felt well-prepared for his first full Super Rugby Pacific season.

“I’d spent a bit of time on a few development contracts at the Chiefs so I sort of had a few years of learning and being in the environment I guess,” he said.

“It was just more ‘getting on the field’ which was a big step up but it just takes some time and a few games; that’s all you need.”

Learning from Highlanders halfback Folau Fakatava was beneficial, he said.

Lennox was a big fan of the new rule change that allowed scrum free kicks to be taken on the spot, instead of from behind the scrum.

“Oh, it’s a brilliant rule, I reckon ... it’s nearly impossible to defend when you’re five metres out from the line,” he said.

His form earned him a spot in the Māori All Blacks, which he said was a special moment.

“It was a good environment to be in and to be able to play a level of international rugby was cool.”

Now entering his fifth season with Taranaki, Lennox hoped to reach 50 games with the province.

Earning back the Ranfurly Shield and winning the championship were big team goals as the side had experienced “painful” campaign endings in recent seasons, he said.

“We’ve got the team to do it if it all goes to plan,” Lennox said.

Lennox has two more years left of his contract with the Highlanders and is looking forward to linking up with his Taranaki first five-eighth Josh Jacomb, who has signed for next season.

Click here to read article