Kylem O'Donnell

Kylem Francis Te Riri O'Donnell (born 1 August 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a halfback for in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup. He is also a former All Blacks Sevens representative.

Early career Raised in Waikato, O'Donnell attended Hamilton Boys' High School and played 47 games for the 1st XV along with younger brother Declan, who also went on to become a professional rugby player.

O'Donnell was an NZ under 20s trialist in 2008 and was named as a non-travelling reserve for the IRB Under 20 World cup 2009 in Japan, alongside Cody Rei, who later joined the full Squad.

Not being recognized by Waikato Academy until after making the NZ under 20s trials, O'Donnell decided to shift to Taranaki in 2009 after school, in pursuit of an ITM Cup contract.

After a good local season with the Clifton Rugby club, he was signed for the 2009 Taranaki ITM Cup Squad. He made his debut for the Bulls in a match against in Pukekohe.

Super Rugby

After a long provincial career, O'Donnell finally landed a Super Rugby contract with the defending champions, the in 2017.

International

O'Donnell was an All Blacks Sevens representative from 2011 until 2012, competing in 5 World Rugby Sevens Series events and scoring 3 tries. He also holds the All Blacks Sevens all time beep test record. With an unprecedented score of 15.6 the highest Sir Gordon tietjens had ever seen in a NZ sevens camp. He said "Caleb Ralph nearly hit 15 once and Roger Randle is also right up there but 15.6 is staggering". (from The Daily Post -Rotorua, Jan 21, 2012). https://www.topendsports.com/testing/results/beep-test.htm https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=10805415