1078 Kevin O’Neill

The man known to his team mates as “Giant”, Kevin O’Neill is one of the few players who had to leave the Crusaders juggernaut to get a shot at an All Blacks call-up.

With Brad Thorn suspended, O’Neill was brought onto the All Blacks bench for the Tri-Nations test match against South Africa in Dunedin in 2008. Any thought on O’Neill’s part that it would be a quiet night were quickly dispelled in the 28th minute when Ali Williams was injured. O’Neill was pressed into service alongside Anthony Boric in the All Blacks second row.

Between them O’Neill and Boric had played a total of 93 minutes of test rugby and the novice duo had to take on the might of Springbok powerhouses Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield. South Africa won the match 30-28 and it remains the only occasion O’Neill has played for New Zealand.

A Thames Valley product, O’Neill continued his rugby education at Sacred Heart College in Auckland. He first came to national prominence in 2003 when he was part of New Zealand’s world champion Under 21 side.

He progressed through the ranks at Canterbury making his Crusaders debut in 2005 and also representing the New Zealand Junior side later that same year.

With Ali Williams and Brad Thorn heading to Christchurch in 2008, O’Neill could see that his game time would be limited so he headed north to Hamilton to link up with the Chiefs and Waikato. In his first season with the Chiefs he was the only forward to start every game. It was his consistency and industrious play that Super 14 season which caught the selector’s eye.

In 2009 he was a mainstay in the Chiefs pack. His side went all the way to the Super 14 final before being defeated by the Bulls in Pretoria. Despite being part of championship-winning Crusaders sides in 2005 and 2006, it was the first time O’Neill had got the chance to play in a final.

In 2011, O’Neill was lured to the fledgling Melbourne Rebels Super 15 franchise by former Wallabies coach Rod McQueen.