Ollie Sapsford
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| Date of birth | 7 October 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Ashburton, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 104 kg (229 lb; 16 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Ashburton College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ollie Sapsford (born 7 October 1995) is a professional rugby union player, who currently plays as a midfield back or wing for the Brumbies in Super Rugby.[1] In New Zealand, he most recently played for Hawke's Bay in the National Provincial Championship.[2] Born in New Zealand, he represents Australia at international level, being eligible for that country on ancestry grounds.
Sapsford hails from Ashburton in the Canterbury Region on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. He attended Ashburton College and played age grade rugby for Mid Canterbury up to Under 16 level. He didn't play 1st XV rugby at school.[3][4]
Sapsford left school at the age of 16 and started a building apprenticeship. After finishing his apprenticeship, he left for Western Australia to work on a farm for a year. While there, he played Australian rules football at club level, picking up skills that proved to be helpful in the next phases of his rugby career. After his return to New Zealand, he started playing rugby again and represented Mid Canterbury in the Heartland Championship in 2016.[4][5]
Following Sapsford's season playing for Mid Canterbury, he was offered a Wellington Rugby Academy contract and played two seasons for the Wellington Development team.[6][7]
Early 2019, Sapsford moved to Hawke's Bay where he played for Taradale Rugby & Sports in the province's club rugby competition.[8]
Senior career
On 4 August 2019, Sapsford was named in the Hawke's Bay squad for the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup season.[9] He made his debut for the Magpies on 11 August 2019 against Manawatu and scored his first try for the province on 28 September 2019 in their game against Bay of Plenty.[10][11]
In December 2019, Sapsford also represented Hawke's Bay at the Central Region Sevens Tournament and the New Zealand National Rugby Sevens Tournament.[12][13]
Sapsford was again named in the Hawke's Bay squad for the 2020 and the 2021 season.[14][15] During the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season, Sapsford helped the Magpies win the Ranfurly Shield,[16] successfully defend the Shield three times and win the Mitre 10 Cup Championship, thus securing a well-deserved promotion to the Premiership division.[17] The Magpies held on to the Shield during the entire 2021 Bunnings NPC season – winning all six Ranfurly Shield defences[18] – and finished the regular season at the top of the Premiership table. They missed out on a spot in the Premiership Final after a 27 – 33 semi-final loss to Tasman.[19] In the regular season game against Manawatu on 30 October 2021, Sapsford scored a hat-trick in an eye-catching performance.[20]
From 2017 to 2019, Sapsford played several games for the Hurricanes Development team.[21][22][23] However, it was eventually an Australian Super Rugby franchise that offered him a contract. On 3 November 2021, the Brumbies announced that they had signed Sapsford on a two-year deal.[24] He made his Super Rugby debut for his new team on 20 February 2022 against the Western Force.[25] Sapsford scored his first Super Rugby try for the Brumbies on 2 June 2023 against the Rebels.[26]
On 13 June 2023, the Brumbies announced that Sapsford had re-signed with the franchise for another season.[27]