Sullivan named Maori All Blacks captain for Japan tour in 'most honourable week of my life'

Bailyn Sullivan will lead the Maori All Blacks on their two-game tour of Japan, a captaincy appointment that left the Hurricanes back visibly overwhelmed when asked to explain it.

“It’s obviously a huge privilege and honour to lead the boys,” Sullivan told reporters. “It’s a short campaign. It will probably be the best and most honourable week of my life. I’m looking forward to that. It’s still a bit of a shock.”

Sullivan admitted he could not recall any previous captaincy experience, but was characteristically understated about the challenge ahead. “Nah, not really, bro. But I guess that’s the beauty of the Maori All Blacks — you can chuck anyone in there, and they’ll lead with mana and pride. That’s what I’m looking forward to doing.”

Coach Tamati Ellison stepped in to make the case for his choice. “I think that sometimes our problem is our humility,” Ellison said. “He leads on the field. He plays a physical brand of rugby — he’s an explosive ball carrier and physical on the defensive side. In a short campaign, having someone who can command respect and lead straight away is important. Bailyn made his debut for the Maori All Blacks in 2022 and has grown into an experienced member of this group.”

Experience will matter across the squad. Five players — Adam Lennox, Reon Paul, Tahlor Cahill, Torian Barnes, and Payton Spencer — are set to make their Maori All Blacks debuts against a Japan XV at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya. The side arrives with something to prove after a 29-26 defeat to Scotland in July 2025 and a 26-14 loss to a Japan XV a year earlier.

Sullivan’s own career has been a study in persistence. He has played 81 games for Waikato in the NPC, crossing for 21 tries, and was part of the 2021 NPC Premiership-winning side that edged Tasman 23-20 in the final. A breakthrough in Super Rugby proved elusive — injury and inconsistent form restricted him to just eight appearances across four seasons with the Chiefs — but a move to Wellington transformed his fortunes. He has since played 50 games for the Hurricanes, including 10 in their 2025 Super Rugby championship triumph, and memorably scored four tries off the bench in a 35-17 win against his former side the Chiefs.

His Maori All Blacks record against Japan is largely positive: a try in a 36-10 win in 2024 and a 53-20 victory in 2025 bookend the Toyota Stadium defeat that still stings. A standout moment in the black-and-green came in 2022, when the Maori beat Ireland 32-17 in Hamilton — a match Sullivan featured in during his debut campaign.

With the first fixture against a Japan XV approaching, Sullivan is already feeling the heat — in more ways than one. “It’s bloody hot over here,” he noted.