Growing up in North Canterbury, Fletcher Newell played in Rangiora High School’s first XV team from 15 years of age, captaining it in his last year. He joined the Crusaders Academy in 2018  whilst studying towards a Bachelor of Commerce at Lincoln University. In the same year, he was selected for the NZ U20s, playing in both Oceania and World Rugby Championships.

Fletcher was part of the Canterbury U19 squad and was part of the 2019 team which claimed the Graham Mourie Cup in the final against Auckland.  

He went on to debut for the Canterbury provincial side in 2020, coming off the bench to help secure the Ranfurly Shield against North Otago. In 2021, Fletcher made his Crusaders debut and went on to play every single game for the following season which earned him a spot in the All Blacks. His debut in the black jersey was in 2022 against South Africa, and he has 22 caps to date.

Labelled a ‘powerful scrummager’ by All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, Fletcher broke the Academy’s squatting record in 2020 with 255kg and has since raised the bar to a huge 275kg.