Tim O'Malley (rugby union)

Tim O'Malley
Full nameTimothy Paul O'Malley
Date of birth (1994-08-21) 21 August 1994 (age 30)
Place of birthPaerau, New Zealand
Height186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight96 kg (15 st 2 lb; 212 lb)
SchoolSt Kevin’s College
Rugby union career
Position(s) First five-eighth, Centre
Current team Tasman
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–2021, 2023–
2019
2020
2021
2021–2022
Tasman
Utah Warriors
NEC Green Rockets
Highlanders
Zebre
50
16
4
1
12
(92)
(134)
(12)
(0)
(15)
Correct as of 29 September 2024

Timothy Paul O'Malley (born 21 August 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Tasman in the Bunnings NPC. His position is first five-eighth.[1]

Career

Originally from the small Central Otago town of Paerau, O'Malley attended boarding school at St Kevin's College and later played for Heartland Championship side North Otago in 2012.

He spent three years playing for the Bay of Plenty Academy before moving to Picton at the start of 2016, taking up a job as a rugby development officer for his local club Waitohi as well as playing for the club.[2]

He made his debut for Tasman in 2016 after originally being loaned to Southland, later being recalled to the top of the South.[3] He was part of the Tasman team that won the Mitre 10 Cup for the first time in 2019.

In 2019, O'Malley played for the Utah Warriors in Major League Rugby (MLR), where he was the team's leading scorer. He also had a stint with the NEC Green Rockets.

He signed with the Dallas Jackals for the 2021 Major League Rugby season; however, it was later announced that the side would not be making their debut season in the competition until 2022. O'Malley was again part of the Mako side that won the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup.

In May 2021, O'Malley was called into the Highlanders squad as an injury replacement for the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition.[4] He was named on the bench to play the Reds in Round 1 at Forsyth Barr Stadium.[5]

In September 2021, O'Malley cancelled his contract with the Dallas Jackals and signed with Italian side Zebre. He played for the Italian team during the 2021–22 United Rugby Championship season.[6][7] Tasman again made the 2021 Bunnings NPC final before losing 23–20 to Waikato.

In Round 8 of the 2024 Bunnings NPC O'Malley played his 50th game for Tasman against Otago in Dunedin, starting at number 12 for the Mako.

References

  1. ^ "Tim O'Malley itsrugby.co.uk player statistics". Itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Waitohi rugby development officer and Tasman Mako Tim O'Malley". stuff.co.nz. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  3. ^ "O'Malley takes long road to Tasman team". stuff.co.nz. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Super Rugby: Highlanders have plan for Reds prop Taniela Tupou". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Speight's Highlanders to play the Reds". thehighlanders.co.nz. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Le Zebre Rugby si assicurano il talento del duttile trequarti Neozelandese Timothy O'Malley". Zebre Rugby (in Italian). 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  7. ^ "LE ZEBRE SALUTANO CINQUE GIOCATORI CHE LASCIANO IL CLUB". Zebre Parma (in Italian). 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.