NOLA Gold Rugby Club re-signed John Sullivan for this fourth season with the club. The 27-year-old loosehead prop (28 in June) is 6’2″and 245 lbs.
John converted from back-row to prop and played 27 minutes in two matches during the 2020 Covid-19 shortened regular-season. He played for the Ohio Aviators Tens in the World Tens Series in Bermuda in October/November. He started at loosehead prop against Austin Gilgronis during NOLA Gold’s 2021 preseason match.
In 2019 he played 364 minutes in 12 matches, starting 3 times, and scoring 1 try. He carried 16 times for 110 meters, had 1 linebreak, and made 71 tackles. Following the season he played for USA Rugby South in a representative match at prop. In 2018 he played 552 minutes in 8 matches, starting 7 times and scoring 2 tries.
John is from Orchard Park, New York. He went to Orchard Park High School and began to play rugby his sophomore year for the Orchard Park Rugby Club. He also ran an indoor track that year.
After high school, John enrolled at St. Bonaventure in 2011 and pursued their 5 years BBA/MBA program. He majored in accounting and minored in economics for the undergraduate degree, and graduated in 2015. After the fifth year, he obtained an MBA in 2016. For his 5 years at the university, he played rugby.
His rugby honors at St. Bonaventure University include All-Empire Conference first side fullback his sophomore year and with the same honors at wing his junior year. In his senior year and his 5th year in Graduate School, he was selected to the second side All Rugby East Conference at the outside center and at No. 8, respectively. In 2016 he was also a Collegiate All American honorable mention.
While in college, John also played rugby sevens with the Columbus Rugby Club/ 1823 Sevens during the Summers of 2013 and 2014.
After obtaining his graduate degree, John played rugby with the Mystic River Rugby Club during the 2016-2017 seasons as an outside center, No. 8, and flanker. His performance also gained him recognition with the club for the 2016 Rookie of the Year Award.
John’s rugby sevens play also brought him to the Las Vegas Invitational in 2016 where he played with Stars Rugby 7s where the team became Shield Champions. He also played with them at the Rugbytown 7s that August. To conclude that year’s sevens season, he played with the Northeast Academy at the New York 7s and the Barbados 7s. The team left both tournaments as Cup champions.
In 2017, he also went to the Las Vegas Invitational with the Northeast Academy, where the team finished in 5th/6th place. Then he played with Mystic River in the 2017 Northeast Summer club sevens competition.
At the end of the Summer, he again went to the Rugbytown 7s and played with Negro y Azul, where they finished in 6th place.
During Summer 2019 he played with New Orleans RFC Sevens with the team finishing second in the Red River, just missing out on the USA Club 7s Nationals. He also played with USA Rugby South at loosehead prop against the Cayman Islands. He is currently playing for the Chicago Lions during Fall 2019.
NOLA Gold 2020 Comments
Ryan Fitzgerald, General Manager, discussed John’s signing saying “Pound for pound, Sully is one of the strongest guys in all of MLR. His relentless work ethic, his toughness, and his do ‘whatever it takes’ mentality add great value to our roster.
