 He played for Otago in the National Provincial Championship and the Otago Highlanders in 1996 in the opening season of the Super 14

Randell played his first game for the All Blacks in 1995 against an Italy A selection.Randell was 21 when he first captained the All Blacks in South Africa in 1996 in four non-test games and only 23 when he first captained the All Blacks vs England in 1998.Randell was selected as captain to replace Sean Fitzpatrick by new coach John Hart.