John Charles O'Sullivan (11 August 1950 – 7 September 2018) was a New Zealand

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the team that represented New Zealand in the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

and 1975 World Cups.

Early years

O'Sullivan attended

Rosmini College Rosmini College is a state integrated Catholic School, Catholic secondary school for boys, situated in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand. The proprietor of the school is Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland, the Bishop of Auckland. The school cater ...

Playing career

O'Sullivan played for the

Northcote Tigers The Northcote Tigers are a rugby league club based in Northcote, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1910 as the Northcote Warriors though they became known as the Northcote Ramblers shortly afterwards.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Go ...

in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

competition and also played in the

Auckland rugby league team The Auckland rugby league team is the team which traditionally represents all of the clubs which play in the Auckland Rugby League competition. As well as a senior men's team there are also Auckland representative teams throughout the various a ...

representing Auckland. By 1971 he had moved to the Ponsonby club.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. . He was first selected for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team () 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 Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

in 1971, but did not make his debut until the second test match against the Australian team in 1972. He was part of the squad at the 1972 World Cup. In 1974, O'Sullivan was part of the Auckland side that defeated Great Britain's side 11-2 at

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of around 28,000 in the 19 ...

. He also played in the three match test series against Great Britain for the Kiwis. In 1975 O'Sullivan played for Auckland in their victory over

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and again played for the Kiwis in the 1975 World Championship. The World Championship match against Wales was the last of his ten test matches for New Zealand. He moved to Wellington in 1976 and became a Wellington representative, playing for the

Wellington rugby league team The Wellington Rugby League Team (also known as the Wellington Orcas) are a rugby league team that represents the Wellington Rugby League in New Zealand Rugby League competitions. They currently compete in the National Competition. History ...

before retiring.

Coaching career

In 1984 he coached a Kiwi's trial team.''1984 Autex Rugby League Annual'',

New Zealand Rugby Football League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

, 1984. p.p.18-31 He coached the

in the 1986

competition.''1986 Lion Red Rugby League Annual'',

, 1986. p.101 He Also coached Wellington

Retirement and death

O'Sullivan lived in

Rangiora Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury Region, Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the ...

, near Christchurch, in the latter years of his life, and died on 7 September 2018 aged 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OSullivan, John 1950 births 2018 deaths 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players Northcote Tigers coaches Northcote Tigers players People educated at Rosmini College Rugby league centres Rugby league players from the Auckland Region Wellington rugby league team players