Kylem O'Donnell

Kylem O'Donnell (born 1 August 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a halfback for Taranaki in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and for the Hurricanes in the international Super Rugby competition. He is also a former All Blacks Sevens representative.

Raised in Waikato, O'Donnell attended Hamilton Boys' High School along with younger brother Declan, who also went on to become a professional rugby player. Unable to earn a provincial contract in Waikato, O'Donnell shifted to Taranaki in 2009. After a good local season with the Clifton Rugby club, he made his debut for the Bulls in a match against Counties Manukau in Pukekohe.

O'Donnell spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons with Taranaki and during that time his appearances were largely confined to cameos from the replacements bench. He didn't make the Bulls squad for the 2011 ITM Cup and eventually shifted back to Waikato, for whom he made 7 appearances in 2013. Again he couldn't make their squad for the following season and after a year away from provincial rugby, he returned to Taranaki in 2015, providing cover for the injured Jamison Gibson-Park. His real breakthrough in the 15-man game came in 2016 when he was able to win the starting number 9 jersey at Taranaki from Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi and put in a series of good performances in a season which saw the Bulls reach the Premiership semi-finals.

After a long and meandering provincial career, O'Donnell finally landed a Super Rugby contract with the defending champions, the Hurricanes in 2017.

O'Donnell was an All Blacks Sevens representative from 2011 until 2012, competing in 5 World Rugby Sevens Series events and scoring 3 tries.