Billy Proctor is looking for balance.
It has been a whirlwind rise for the Hurricanes midfielder over the past couple of years. In 2024, he earned his first All Blacks appearances, running out against Fiji and Japan. That rise continued into 2025 as coach Scott Robertson awarded him the No 13 jersey to begin the test campaign against France.
Coming into the test season, Proctor’s selection at centre for the All Blacks seemed the popular choice among fans and pundits, with Rieko Ioane moving back to the left wing.
But as suggestions that Proctor may be the All Blacks’ answer at centre have grown louder, the 26-year-old has become adept at simply playing what is in front of him.
“You can’t get too caught up in those things. I back myself as a player, as people in this environment do, and that’s why they’re here. I don’t get too caught up in it and put unnecessary pressure on myself,” he tells the Herald.
“I’m trying to find the balance between understanding that you have a responsibility to do that that comes with the jersey, and then the belief in yourself. If you don’t have that, then the pressure can consume you; you probably get consumed by the pressure and don’t put out the performances that you’re wanting.”
Proctor built into the test nicely under the roof in Dunedin. He played a key part in Jordie Barrett’s try at the end of the first half, powered over the line from a pick-and-go in the second half – though was judged to have knocked the ball on in attempting to ground it – and carried impressively.
The midfield combination with Barrett was one that worked well for the Hurricanes in 2024, and didn’t take long for Proctor to settle back into after Barrett had spent the 2025 Super Rugby season playing in Ireland.
“It’s always nice to be outside Udon [Barrett]. His impact on the game is pretty big, he has a high workload and it’s always nice running off him with the skillset that he has. He’s a skilful player, whether it’s in the air, catch, pass or kick, he can do that lot, so I always enjoy playing outside Jordie,” he says.
“I’ve played a lot with him coming through the Hurricanes. We’ve worked closely together, we start feeling what we need from each other. The tendencies are starting to come back pretty quickly after his year away. He’s helped me in the sense of everything in my game; skillset, work-ons, just picking his brain because he’s pretty good at what he does, as we can all see.”
Being selected in the starting side in the first test of the season was a fitting reward for his form during Super Rugby Pacific where, after returning from an Achilles injury, he was terrific for the Hurricanes. Despite missing the first nine rounds, Proctor was among the competition’s top 10 in defenders beaten.
Reflecting on his season, he says he hadn’t been thinking too far ahead but wanted to put himself in a position to push for more at test level.
“At the start of the year, it was a bit of an unknown how long my leg was going to take. I was focusing on first things first, which was getting right and getting back on the field before I thought about things to come further down the line,” he says
“The focus was to get on the field, first and foremost. Then from there, it was just to play good rugby because obviously that takes care of the second part, which was wanting to be part of the All Blacks and help influence games.”
Proctor will be better for the experience of the first test. Despite the French not having their best squad, it was a step up from his first two outings in the black jersey, which were both blowout wins.
He admits there were some moments he wished had gone differently; being beaten on the outside by Theo Attissogbe after a midfield scrum was the one that left the biggest mark, as Proctor’s desperation in defence resulted in him copping one of the French fullback’s boots to his face.
“I think I got his sprig, so a few stitches post-game but it’s all good,” Proctor says.
“There’s obviously a few things that I want back but that’s part of test footy; the pressure and being able to execute. For the most part, I did that. If I had my time back there were one or two moments that could have been a little bit better, but I’ll learn from that.”
For live commentary of this weekend’s All Blacks v France test, go to GOLD SPORT, Newstalk ZB or iHeartRadio.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.