The surprise package who has been New Zealand's best attacking midfielder this season
There are seasons in Super Rugby where a relatively unknown player seems to burst onto the scene and capture lightning in a bottle, performing at a level unseen before.
Nehe Milner-Skudder comes to mind, a player who was not highly sought after and transitioned into rugby union from a stint on the fringes of the NRL. He exploded in Super Rugby for the Hurricanes in 2015 after getting a spot on the roster and became an All Blacks star.
This year the Hurricanes have found that kind of player again in Bailyn Sullivan, who had just eight appearances with the Chiefs over four seasons since 2018 where he was tried as a winger on five occasions with limited success, and three times off the bench.
The 23-year-old has been given another chance with the Hurricanes and has found another life. Even in a crowded midfield he has become the most dangerous attacking centre in the competition, statistically speaking.
Sullivan has clocked the most running metres of any midfielder (600), while generating the most post-contact metres (281) on just 58 carries. The next best in total metres is Izaia Perese from the Waratahs with 598, which took him 70 carries, while in post-contact metres the next best is Fijian Apisalome Vota of the Drua.
His eight line breaks are second only to Will Jordan (9), yet the Crusaders fullback has taken significantly more carries with 87. Six of Sullivan’s breaks have directly led to Hurricanes tries.
In terms of bang for buck, Sullivan has been the most effective centre at creating and finishing broken field opportunities.
The Hurricanes are 6-5 on the season but in the seven times that Bailyn Sullivan has started at 13, the Hurricanes have a 6-1 win-loss record.
In the four games Sullivan hasn’t started, they have lost every match.
There has been so much chopping and changing in many positions that the selection of Sullivan cannot be the only factor, but when you look at the attacking production Sullivan has given the Hurricanes, it has made a big difference against both top teams and weaker ones.
Against the Blues in the second game of the season, Sullivan made an impression in the final moments by setting up Ardie Savea for the game-winning try by planting a big fend on the chest of league convert Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and breaking away downfield.
The pass was on the money – and it needed to be, it would have sailed over the touchline and essentially ended the game had it not hit Savea on the chest at full pace.
That assist was his second of the game after a pinpoint grubber kick laid on a try for Wes Goosen in the first half. Those two plays were a net addition of 14 points for the Hurricanes in a game decided by one point.
Against the Highlanders at home, he didn’t have any plays that influenced the scoring, but in Dunedin in the second fixture he opened the Hurricanes’ ledger by ghosting past no fewer than five Highlanders defenders cutting against the grain. The game was ultimately decided by one point.
In the loss to Moana Pasifika, Sullivan didn’t start. In the return leg he did, adding a try assist in the second half by laying one on for TJ Perenara in what was a lopsided win.
Despite an early yellow card for a dangerous tackle against the Queensland Reds, Sullivan pounced on a loose pass and galloped away over 60-metres to score the Hurricanes’ first try of the game. He scored his second try eleven minutes from time for a net impact of 12 points in a 30-17 victory.
In the Hurricanes’ huge 67-5 victory against the Drua on the weekend, Sullivan had an assist with a nice short ball for the opening try to Josh Moorby, and almost a carbon copy for Moorby’s second with another pass to the outside.
While Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua are at the bottom of the ladder, the Blues and Reds are top five teams with the Auckland-based franchise leading the competition. Sullivan’s biggest contributions have come in those two wins.
With five try assists and four tries in seven games, Sullivan has been a match-winning influence for the Hurricanes, which has vastly exceeded expectations on what would have been a bargain contract pick-up from the Chiefs.
This does not mean he will be an All Blacks selection, however, as on the other side of the ball his defensive effectiveness needs to improve to become a test calibre player. The Drua’s only try came right through his channel.
His defence needs to sharpen in aspects, the angles he takes, timing and execution of his tackles which has been off at times resulting in a 74 per cent completion rate and 19 misses. It’s also the non-attempts that don’t end up on a stat sheet that matter.
Overall, Sullivan has made a big difference and considering where he was 12 months ago, his season will be one to remember.
At just 23 years old, there is so much more potential to unlock to round out his game, but right now he is the most productive attacking midfielder in New Zealand.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments