Michael William O'Callaghan (born 27 April 1946) is a former New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player. A wing three-quarter, O'Callaghan represented and at a provincial level, and was a member of the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

national side, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

, in 1968. He played three Test matches for the All Blacks against the touring French team that year. After studying veterinary medicine at

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

, O'Callaghan completed a master's degree at the National Veterinary School of Toulouse in France, where he played first for Stade Poitevin and then

Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain () (), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulouse is the most successfu ...

. He then undertook doctoral studies at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

; the title of his thesis, completed in 1978, was ''Assessment of sino-atrial and atrio-ventricular nodal function in the conscious horse by intra-atrial electrostimulation''. While at Cambridge, he was awarded

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

for rugby every year from 1974 to 1977. O'Callaghan then returned to Massey where he was on the faculty of the School of Veterinary Medicine, before moving to

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

School of Veterinary Medicine for 10 years, including three years as head of department. He then spent 15 years at

Genzyme Genzyme (also known as Genzyme Transgenics Corp or GTC Biotherapeutics) was an American biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. From its acquisition in 2011 to 2022 Genzyme operated as a fully owned subsidiary of Sanofi. In 2010, ...

in Massachusetts as a research and development executive leader, before joining Audentes Therapeutics as senior vice president, preclinical development and translational medicine.

Personal life

O'Callaghan married New Zealand scholar of French culture, Raylene Ramsay, in

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

in 1971.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OCallaghan, Mick 1946 births Living people People from Rotherham, New Zealand People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Manawatu rugby union players Waikato rugby union players Stade Toulousain players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Rugby union wings Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni Massey University alumni University of Toulouse alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Veterinary scientists Academic staff of Massey University Tufts University faculty Rugby union players from the Canterbury Region Barbarian F.C. players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in France