Old Boy Kylem O'Donnell Selected for NZ Sevens

Report by Glenn Mclean

It's not a bad record – one IRB sevens tournament, one win.

For young Taranaki halfback Kylem O'Donnell, it doesn't get much better after a surprise callup to the national sevens squad led to a cup-winning performance at South Africa's Port Elizabeth last weekend.

"I was in Dubai the week before the South African sevens playing in an invitational tournament and on my last night there the boys went out for a drink," O'Donnell said this week.

"In the morning I got a phone call from Titch (national coach Gordon Tietjens) saying he was calling me over to South Africa and I was like, oh what, really?"

With the New Zealand team already settled into camp on South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, O'Donnell was full of nervous anticipation as he boarded his plane at Dubai.

Getting to the point of being called up to the national squad came three years after he moved south following a successful stint at Hamilton Boys' High School, where he was a member of the first XV for three years, moving between halfback and wing.

From a sporting family, O'Donnell fits in between older brother Riley and his two younger siblings – Declan, 21, and Rivay, 17.

With just 15 months between them, Kylem has always had a strong bond with Declan, who was first to represent New Zealand at sevens and whose form for Waikato earned him selection in the 2012 Chiefs squad.

Moving south to Taranaki was something O'Donnell did not have to think too hard about after Waikato showed no interest in developing his obvious talent.

"I feel like I'm ready to move up and I want to be the starting halfback," he said. "I know the competition is there and it's going to be interesting to see who comes through."

To make the breakthrough he so desires, O'Donnell knows he has to make some improvements.

"I think the biggest thing is getting game time and getting confidence," he said. "I think I've got to learn to read the game a bit better and learn to slow things down a bit, not try and do everything at 100 miles an hour."

All valid points, but O'Donnell does have a few assets up his sleeve, most notably his strong passing game.

He makes no secret of the love he has for sevens, a progression from one of his favourite school pastimes. "When I was younger I played a lot of touch and I made the New Zealand men's team when I was at school," he said.

"Sevens is kind of like touch, with the contact obviously, and it gives you the freedom to express yourself."

Tietjens advice to him has been relatively simple – slow things down and look and learn from veteran Tomasi Cama.

It's something he had no trouble doing while in South Africa, with Cama and the senior members of the New Zealand side more than happy to pass on advice.

"Everyone is really tight and they all seem to play off confidence instead of fear. They back you and they back themselves."

O'Donnell saw more game time in the Port Elizabeth tournament than he expected and was right in the thick of the action when New Zealand grabbed a last-gasp win in the final over South Africa.

"It was a mean feeling," he said. "Kicking the ball through and then seeing Toby (Arnold) pick it up and run for that tryline, that was pretty cool."

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