Michael O'Donnell is a New Zealand former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who represented

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the 1977 World Cup.

Playing career

Originally from the West Coast, O'Donnell was a Schoolboy Kiwi before moving to Canterbury in 1970. He played most of his football at centre, although nine of the Test matches were at fullback.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987. O'Donnell played for the Marist-Western Suburbs club in the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

competition between 1970 and 1986. In 1972 O'Donnell shared the Turner and Le Brun Cup as top-equal goalscorer in the competition. He first represented

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

in 1971 and went on to earn 48 caps for his province and also represent the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. He first made the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

in 1977 for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

and went on to play in 28 matches for the Kiwis, scoring 68 points (6 tries, 25 goals), including ten Test matches between 1977 and 1981. He was unavailable for the Kiwis in 1982 and broke his leg early in the 1983 season. O'Donnell moved to Auckland in 1986 to pursue business interests.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonnell, Michael Living people New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Canterbury rugby league team players South Island rugby league team players Marist-Western Suburbs players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league centres Junior Kiwis players Year of birth missing (living people)