Josh Bartlett

Josh Bartlett, born 28 December 2002, is a back-row forward contracted to the Highlanders in Super Rugby Pacific. A flanker by trade, he sits within a Highlanders back-row group that has long valued mobility, breakdown work, and the kind of relentless effort that defines New Zealand loose forward play. His role for the Dunedin-based side runs along familiar lines for an openside-style flanker: targeting the ruck, providing defensive line presence, and contributing to the team's transition game. Bartlett has progressed through the New Zealand domestic pathway and is part of a Highlanders squad that operates within one of Super Rugby's most demanding competitions, where back-row depth is regularly tested across a long season. As a younger forward still building his Super Rugby profile, his development is tied to consistent matchday opportunities and the broader rebuild the Highlanders have been undertaking. He profiles as the kind of work-rate flanker that the franchise has historically leaned on through the middle of long campaigns.