SAM GILBERT IS a versatile, goal-kicking back who will join Connacht from the Highlanders in his native New Zealand ahead of next season.
The 26-year-old has played the majority of his professional rugby with the Highlanders, Otago, and Canterbury at fullback.
Gilbert has made 45 starts in Super Rugby for the Highlanders, with 16 coming at fullback, 15 at inside centre, 12 on the right wing, and two at out-half.
He has featured mainly at fullback this season, but Gilbert was used exclusively at inside centre in Super Rugby last year.
He was an out-half coming through school at St Andrew’s College in Christchurch, yet progressed from there as a back three player, with his single New Zealand U20s cap coming on the left wing in a team that included current All Blacks like Samipeni Finau, Tupou Vaa’i, Tamaiti Williams, and Fletcher Newell.
Gilbert has not played for the senior New Zealand team, but he won two caps off the bench for the second-string All Blacks XV on their tour to Japan in 2023, playing in midfield – alongside Munster’s Alex Nankivell – and at fullback in those appearances.
Gilbert is a non-Irish-qualified [NIQ] player who will essentially replace the departing Argentina international fullback/wing Santiago Cordero in Connacht.
Gilbert celebrates a try for the Highlanders. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
But Gilbert also comes in at a time when versatile back Piers O’Conor is leaving Connacht. O’Conor has started nine games at fullback this season, with seven starts at outside centre, and one on the left wing. Gilbert offers similar versatility.
Advertisement
The Kiwi is a different player to Cordero, particularly in terms of his athletic profile. 6ft 2ins and 100kg Gilbert has around 6ins in height and 20kg in weight on Cordero, which is obviously useful when he plays in the centre. In that sense, Gilbert is much more similar to O’Conor, who is 6ft 1ins and around 100kg.
The hot-stepping Cordero is certainly far more elusive and adept in one-on-one situations than Gilbert.
So far in his career, Gilbert hasn’t been a game-breaking back who brings huge amounts of flair and individual threat to the party. There are many Kiwi backs far more ‘razzley’ than Gilbert. He is a very solid rugby player and the Connacht coaches should always have a strong sense of what he will deliver on the pitch.
The Highlanders are having a poor 2025 season, with just three wins in 11 games so far. Having been the starting fullback earlier in the campaign, Gilbert dropped to the bench for three games last month and has been left out of their matchday 23 for this weekend’s clash with the Hurricanes.
Gilbert is robust and skillful in aerial contests and Connacht will be confident in his ability to cope with the physical side of the game in the URC and Challenge Cup.
Gilbert can play across the backline. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Like most Kiwis, Gilbert has a rounded skillset and can offload the ball well. His history as an out-half means he is adept at passing and kicking from hand. That background as a primary playmaker also underlines that Gilbert is a strong communicator with a good tactical sense of the game.
Gilbert played with Connacht out-half Ioane back in 2020 and 2021, although Ioane was playing at fullback in his second season with the Highlanders and that probably delayed Gilbert’s emergence as a first-team figure.
The great Tony Brown moved Gilbert to out-half for the Highlanders briefly in 2022, his first professional appearances there, and he has also played at number 10 for Otago in the National Provincial Championship. In all, Gilbert has five pro starts at out-half, the most recent in September 2023.
One of the big attractions for Connacht is the fact that Gilbert can goal-kick. This has been an area of struggle for the western province again this season.
First-choice out-half Josh Ioane has been kicking at a 64% success rate in the URC, while JJ Hanrahan has dipped to 63%. Jack Carty is at 78%, although he has only made five URC starts this season. Inside centre Cathal Forde has kicked at 75%.
So Connacht probably feel they have left some kickable points behind them in close games this season.
It seems highly likely that Gilbert will take over as the primary goal-kicker next season.
The New Zealand native has said in the past that he started goal-kicking when he was only five years old and it’s a skill he continued throughout his time as a schoolboy player.
Gilbert has played for the Highlanders since 2020. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
He has been the Highlanders’ first-choice goal-kicker for the past three seasons and was third in the overall points scoring chart for Super Rugby in 2023 behind only Damian McKenzie and Richie Mo’unga.
The right-footed Gilbert is in the top five Super Rugby point scorers again this season despite coming off the bench four times.
The reality is that Gilbert isn’t a blockbuster NIQ signing. Connacht aren’t able to compete for that kind of player right now. But they’re hopeful that Gilbert will provide good value, all the more so given his versatility.
Mack Hansen arrived in Connacht without much fanfare in 2021, having only made eight Super Rugby starts for the Brumbies. He was an almost instant success and is now a key leader for Connacht.
The westerners will be hoping that Gilbert adapts to life in Galway as quickly and proves to be a similar success story as he makes a fresh start after six years with the Highlanders.
The Otago-based ‘Landers have always been underdogs in Kiwi rugby, searching for value around New Zealand and sometimes unearthing gems their rivals have missed. There is more than a hint of similarity to Connacht.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
5 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Who is new Connacht signing Sam Gilbert?
SAM GILBERT IS a versatile, goal-kicking back who will join Connacht from the Highlanders in his native New Zealand ahead of next season.
The 26-year-old has played the majority of his professional rugby with the Highlanders, Otago, and Canterbury at fullback.
Gilbert has made 45 starts in Super Rugby for the Highlanders, with 16 coming at fullback, 15 at inside centre, 12 on the right wing, and two at out-half.
He has featured mainly at fullback this season, but Gilbert was used exclusively at inside centre in Super Rugby last year.
He was an out-half coming through school at St Andrew’s College in Christchurch, yet progressed from there as a back three player, with his single New Zealand U20s cap coming on the left wing in a team that included current All Blacks like Samipeni Finau, Tupou Vaa’i, Tamaiti Williams, and Fletcher Newell.
Gilbert has not played for the senior New Zealand team, but he won two caps off the bench for the second-string All Blacks XV on their tour to Japan in 2023, playing in midfield – alongside Munster’s Alex Nankivell – and at fullback in those appearances.
Gilbert is a non-Irish-qualified [NIQ] player who will essentially replace the departing Argentina international fullback/wing Santiago Cordero in Connacht.
But Gilbert also comes in at a time when versatile back Piers O’Conor is leaving Connacht. O’Conor has started nine games at fullback this season, with seven starts at outside centre, and one on the left wing. Gilbert offers similar versatility.
The Kiwi is a different player to Cordero, particularly in terms of his athletic profile. 6ft 2ins and 100kg Gilbert has around 6ins in height and 20kg in weight on Cordero, which is obviously useful when he plays in the centre. In that sense, Gilbert is much more similar to O’Conor, who is 6ft 1ins and around 100kg.
The hot-stepping Cordero is certainly far more elusive and adept in one-on-one situations than Gilbert.
So far in his career, Gilbert hasn’t been a game-breaking back who brings huge amounts of flair and individual threat to the party. There are many Kiwi backs far more ‘razzley’ than Gilbert. He is a very solid rugby player and the Connacht coaches should always have a strong sense of what he will deliver on the pitch.
The Highlanders are having a poor 2025 season, with just three wins in 11 games so far. Having been the starting fullback earlier in the campaign, Gilbert dropped to the bench for three games last month and has been left out of their matchday 23 for this weekend’s clash with the Hurricanes.
Gilbert is robust and skillful in aerial contests and Connacht will be confident in his ability to cope with the physical side of the game in the URC and Challenge Cup.
Like most Kiwis, Gilbert has a rounded skillset and can offload the ball well. His history as an out-half means he is adept at passing and kicking from hand. That background as a primary playmaker also underlines that Gilbert is a strong communicator with a good tactical sense of the game.
Gilbert played with Connacht out-half Ioane back in 2020 and 2021, although Ioane was playing at fullback in his second season with the Highlanders and that probably delayed Gilbert’s emergence as a first-team figure.
The great Tony Brown moved Gilbert to out-half for the Highlanders briefly in 2022, his first professional appearances there, and he has also played at number 10 for Otago in the National Provincial Championship. In all, Gilbert has five pro starts at out-half, the most recent in September 2023.
One of the big attractions for Connacht is the fact that Gilbert can goal-kick. This has been an area of struggle for the western province again this season.
First-choice out-half Josh Ioane has been kicking at a 64% success rate in the URC, while JJ Hanrahan has dipped to 63%. Jack Carty is at 78%, although he has only made five URC starts this season. Inside centre Cathal Forde has kicked at 75%.
So Connacht probably feel they have left some kickable points behind them in close games this season.
It seems highly likely that Gilbert will take over as the primary goal-kicker next season.
The New Zealand native has said in the past that he started goal-kicking when he was only five years old and it’s a skill he continued throughout his time as a schoolboy player.
He has been the Highlanders’ first-choice goal-kicker for the past three seasons and was third in the overall points scoring chart for Super Rugby in 2023 behind only Damian McKenzie and Richie Mo’unga.
The right-footed Gilbert is in the top five Super Rugby point scorers again this season despite coming off the bench four times.
The reality is that Gilbert isn’t a blockbuster NIQ signing. Connacht aren’t able to compete for that kind of player right now. But they’re hopeful that Gilbert will provide good value, all the more so given his versatility.
Mack Hansen arrived in Connacht without much fanfare in 2021, having only made eight Super Rugby starts for the Brumbies. He was an almost instant success and is now a key leader for Connacht.
The westerners will be hoping that Gilbert adapts to life in Galway as quickly and proves to be a similar success story as he makes a fresh start after six years with the Highlanders.
The Otago-based ‘Landers have always been underdogs in Kiwi rugby, searching for value around New Zealand and sometimes unearthing gems their rivals have missed. There is more than a hint of similarity to Connacht.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
All Blacks XV Connacht New Signing Place Kicker Sam Gilbert versatile