Zarn Sullivan

Zarn Sullivan (born 10 July 2000) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a fullback or fly-half for the Blues in Super Rugby[1] and for Auckland in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition.[2]

Zarn Sullivan
Date of birth (2000-07-10) 10 July 2000
Place of birthNapier, New Zealand
Height193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight101 kg (223 lb; 15 st 13 lb)
SchoolKing's College
Napier Boys' High School
Notable relative(s)Bailyn Sullivan (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback, First five-eighth
Current team Auckland, Blues
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2020– Auckland 23 (116)
2021– Blues 32 (45)
Correct as of 6 October 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2022 Māori All Blacks 1 (5)
Correct as of 29 June 2022

Early career

Sullivan was born in Napier in Hawke's Bay, where he attended Napier Boys' High School. While at Napier Boys', he played for the school's First XV team[3] and represented Hawke's Bay at Under 14 and Under 16 level.[4]

In 2017, he followed in his brother Bailyn Sullivan's footsteps and moved to Auckland where he spent his final two years of secondary school at King's College. He played for the college's First XV team in the Auckland 1A 1st XV competition.[3] In 2017, an injury prevented him from being selected in the Auckland Under 18 squad,[5] but a year later he was invited to attend the Blues Under 18 camp.[6]

In 2019, Sullivan represented Auckland at Under 19 level at the Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under 19 tournament.[7] That same year – his first year out of school – he was named the Auckland Rugby "Club Rookie of the Year" at the province's end-of-year awards function.[8]

In 2019 and 2020, he played for both the Blues Under 20[9][10] and the Blues 'A' team.[11][12]

Senior career

In September 2020, Sullivan was named in the Auckland squad for the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season.[13] He made his debut for the province – via the bench – on 20 September 2020 against Wellington[14] and earned his first start on 17 October 2020 against Tasman.[15]

His first, successful season playing for Auckland saw him rewarded with a spot in the Blues squad for the 2021 Super Rugby season.[16] Having already played for the Blues during preseason ahead of the 2020 Super Rugby season, after being offered an Interim Training Contract,[17] he made his Super Rugby debut for the franchise on 1 May 2021 against a Chiefs side that featured his brother Bailyn Sullivan.[18] He scored a try on debut.[19]

Sullivan went on to play 7 games for the Blues in his first season, which culminated in the franchise winning the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman title.[20] While he played all his 1st XV rugby and age-grade representative rugby at first five-eighth, he played at fullback in all his senior games for Auckland and the Blues.[3] He did this so well, that he was named the Blues "Rookie of the Year" at the end of the 2021 season.[21]

In November 2021, Sullivan re-signed with the Blues until the end of the 2024 Super Rugby season.[22]

International career

In 2018, after his last year at King's College, Sullivan was named in the New Zealand Secondary Schools team for a three-match international series in Australia.[23] He played in all three games, including a 24–12 victory over Australian Schools.[24]

A year later, Sullivan - who is of Ngāti Kahungunu descent - was selected to play for the first ever New Zealand Māori Under 20 team in a match against Fiji. The NZ Māori Under 20 team, which Sullivan co-captained, won the game 48 to 31.[25]

Late 2019 and early 2020, Sullivan was invited to attend the New Zealand Under 20 trial and development camps in preparation of the 2020 Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship and World Rugby U20 Championship.[26][27] Unfortunately, Sullivan missed out on playing for the New Zealand Under 20 team, because these tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[28][29]

In June 2022, Sullivan and his brother Bailyn were – for the first time – named in the Māori All Blacks squad to take on Ireland on their New Zealand tour.[30] He made his debut for the side on 29 June 2022,[31] when the Māori All Blacks beat Ireland 32–17 in Hamilton. Sullivan, who for the first time played together with his brother, had a man-of-the-match performance and scored a try on debut.[32][33]

Reference list
  1. "Blues player profile". Blues. 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  2. "Auckland NPC player profiles". Auckland Rugby Union. 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  3. "Super Rugby: Meet Zarn Sullivan, the pick of the Blues' next gen". New Zealand Herald. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  4. "U14 Reps". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. 2014. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  5. "Under 18s". Auckland Rugby Union. 2017. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  6. "Players selected for U18 camp". Blues (Press release). 4 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  7. "Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under 19 Tournament: Official Tournament Programme" (PDF). New Zealand Rugby. September 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  8. "King's rugby features at the Auckland Rugby Awards". King's College. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  9. "The Blues Under 20s vs Hurricanes Under 20s in Palmerston North". Blues. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2022. – via Facebook
  10. "Ganellen U20s named to play Hurricanes U20s". Blues (Press release). 27 February 2020. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  11. "Blues A named to play Chiefs A". Blues. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2022. – via Facebook
  12. "Ieremia leads Blues 'A' team". Blues (Press release). 6 March 2020. Archived from the original on 6 March 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  13. "Experience and Pedigree will be the key for Auckland's 2020 Mitre 10 Cup squad". Auckland Rugby Union (Press release). 2 September 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  14. "Auckland look to tame the Lions in first homecoming of the season". Auckland Rugby Union (Press release). 18 September 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  15. "Auckland face a top of the table clash with the Makos at Eden Park". Auckland Rugby Union (Press release). 15 October 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  16. "2021 Squad named". Blues (Press release). 3 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  17. "Blues name first team for 2020". Blues (Press release). 16 January 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  18. "Team named for final SRA hit-out". Blues (Press release). 29 April 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  19. "Match centre: Blues v Chiefs". SANZAAR. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  20. "8 Year wait over for the Blues". allblacks.com. 19 June 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  21. "Tom Robinson wins Mealamu Medal at Blues Awards Night". allblacks.com. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  22. "Experienced and pathway prospects extend stay". Blues (Press release). 16 November 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  23. "New Zealand Schools' and New Zealand Schools' Barbarians teams named". allblacks.com (Press release). 23 September 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  24. "New Zealand Schools' team named to play Australia Schools'". allblacks.com (Press release). 5 October 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  25. "New Zealand Maori Under 20s named for Fiji". allblacks.com (Press release). 19 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  26. "New Zealand under 20 programme casts wide net". allblacks.com (Press release). 21 November 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  27. "Triallists named for New Zealand Under 20 development camp". allblacks.com (Press release). 13 February 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  28. "Oceania Rugby Under 20s Championships cancelled". allblacks.com (Press release). 22 May 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  29. "World Rugby update on COVID-19 response measures and statement from Sir Bill Beaumont". World Rugby (Press release). 21 March 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  30. "Māori All Blacks squad named for two-match Ireland series". allblacks.com (Press release). 15 June 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  31. "Māori All Blacks team named to play Ireland in Hamilton". allblacks.com (Press release). 27 June 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  32. "Sullivan brothers pumped for first game together in Māori All Blacks v Ireland". Stuff New Zealand. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  33. "Strong first half propels Māori All Blacks to victory". allblacks.com. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
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