Is James O’Connor the new Tim Horan?
Columnist
By Spiro Zavos, 4 Apr 2008 Spiro Zavos is a Roar Expert
I was watching the Fox Sports presentation of the recent Hong Kong Sevens and a blond-haired, young Australian player caught my eye, and the eye of the commentators.
He was chunky, dynamic, had a great step, ran hard and straight when forcing gaps, passed nicely and was generally abrasive and positive in his play.
He reminded me of the time I went out to Concord Oval with the great rugby columnist Evan Whitton to watch the Australian Schoolboys play the Irish Schoolboys.
A blond-haired inside centre took an inside cut, straightened and then shot, as if jet-propelled, in a dazzling 70m run to the Irish tryline.
We looked at each other the way explorers do when they discover something remarkable. The name on the program of the flashing star was Tim Horan.
At Hong Kong, the flashing new star was named by the commentators as James O’Connor, 18, recruited from school by the Western Force.
Judging by his Hong Kong Sevens form, it must only be a matter of time, late this year perhaps, or next season, for O’Connor to front up in the Force’s backline.
If the promise evolves into performance in the 15-man game, there is a delicious prospect ahead of Force supporters, and Wallaby fans, in due course, of a Giteau-Connor five-eighths combination.
The other point of interest at Hong Kong, and at the IRB Adelaide Sevens, is the wonderful way the New Zealand Sevens side plays and wins its matches.
This outstanding side, surely one of the great teams in world sport right now, has won the last seven IRB Sevens tournaments.
There is only one player in the squad who may be a future star in the 15-man game – Victor Vito, a big (112kg and 194cm), fast and skillful winger in Sevens and flanker in the 15-man game.
In the crucial semi-final against Fiji, Vito chased and caught the first four kick-offs. This enabled New Zealand to annihilate Fiji.
Gordon Tietjens coaches the NZ Sevens side, and he must be in the running for rugby’s coach of the year.
Every tournament the New Zealand side brings a new tactic or play, all of them perfectly executed. At Hong Kong, for instance, it was chasing and catching the kick-offs.
What will the new tactic be at Adelaide? Will the stars like O’Connor and Vito shine? And will NZ make it eight tournament wins in a row?
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sheek said | April 4th 2008 @ 8:00am | Report comment
Well, if he can play like Tim Horan, & share his surname with another O’Connor (Michael) who didn’t play rugby union for long enough, & is a good centre like both T.Horan & M.O’Connor were, then the world is James O’Connor’s oyster.
Now all we need is another flyhalf named Ella……….
Ara said | April 4th 2008 @ 9:18am | Report comment
Sevens rugby is awesome to watch and a great development tool! Unfortunately there is very poor coverage in both free to air TV (zilch) and Foxtel (minimal). I remember the Sydney Svens of the late 80′s and it had great crowd support. In fact when Hong Sevens started Australia was the pre-eminent team in the Comp with Fiji! The Commonwealth Games Sevens was also a great success and I was surprised that Adelaide won the rights to host the sevens rather then Sydney or Brisbane!
Reg said | April 4th 2008 @ 9:49am | Report comment
Good call with O’Connor = Horan. But I have heard Rob Horne described as the next Horan as well. And Matt To’ouma as the next Lynagh. And that’s not mentioning the likes of Afusipa Taumoepeau, Aidan Toua, Talalelei Gray, Damien Fitzpatrick or Jake Schatz. And of course there is Joseph Tomane who switched to the dark side and is at the Storm. Nup, there is no denying that last year’s Schoolboys team had an outrageous number of skillfull players. Players you would almost bank your house on playing significant roles in pro rugby. I saw them play in wet weather at Ballymore v the Poms, and they were fairly poor (except for O’Connor who came off the bench to spark the team and set up their match winning try with a length of the field effort). They did beat their New Zealand counterparts, so they proved themselves a special team then. When you consider the names of the previous year’s Schoolboys team as well (Beale, Cooper, BEtham, Palmer, Simmons) its heartening to see the players our schools system is producing.
Vincent said | April 4th 2008 @ 10:17am | Report comment
Ara, I agree with you about the coverage, the last two times I have watched the IRB sevens on foxtel I stumbled upon it as i was flippin through channels about to retire to bed or go to the gym, I could be wrong but it does not even appear in the foxtel guide. granted I was glued to the tv for the whole 2 hour coverage. Its a spectacle that needs more coverage and more exposure.
Sam Taulelei said | April 4th 2008 @ 10:17am | Report comment
Last night after watching Inside Rugby my wife mentioned that it’s not too good for Australian rugby with no teams in the top four of the Super 14. I replied that I wouldn’t be too despondent as the future of Australian rugby is bright with the talented youngsters who will come through in the next couple of seasons and replace many of the old guard. NZ rugby went through the same pain for 5 years from 1998 – 2003 although not necessarily at Super 12 level.
I could never understand why Australia didn’t place enough emphasis on developing talent through sevens rugby. Other countries have done so with success, particularly NZ.
Ara I remember the Sydney 7′s tournament well, it was one of the big tournaments on the circuit at the time and great preparation for the Hong Kong tournament. That era of sevens rugby was my favourite as players could still play both forms before 7′s became specialised and it was great to see stars from the 15′s version playing sevens rugby. This rarely happens today.
LeftArmSpinner said | April 4th 2008 @ 10:17am | Report comment
Spiro, don’t forget Rob Horton, just out of school and in the Tahs senior squad. He is a very compact strong player, good step, good hands and a good pass. Not sure about his kicking game.
To me, he is going to play an important role in coming seasons if the Tahs do start playing real rugby. Burgess, Beale, K-N, Horton, Turner, Tahu (given time) and Mafi. looking good, if they get a go and have the right playing strategy.
stillmissit said | April 4th 2008 @ 1:36pm | Report comment
Who’s is going to make sure this batch of wunderkind do not get neglected and lost overseas, due to shortsighted coaches who give them 2 runs then, if they dont live up to expectations or they dont like their attitude dump them.
I am sure that these youngsters are in some sort of state based academy and being groomed to take over – is this true?
If not then its another thing for O’Neils do list.
haydenl said | April 4th 2008 @ 2:15pm | Report comment
NO Spiro don’t do it. the last kid you anointed has got severe second season syndrom (Josh Holmes). Hopefully the Force can hang onto the youngster and give him some solid game time next year. If the Force hold onto Conner, Pocock and Hocking there is the basis for a great future.
Fox said | April 4th 2008 @ 3:29pm | Report comment
Ah, the curse of the annointed. Let it not be so again!
Sheek – I thought Beale was the new Ella? Oh sorry, that was another beat up from two years back.
Davo said | April 4th 2008 @ 10:21pm | Report comment
If I’m not mistaken Giteau also was a standout in a pretty poor Australian 7s team at the Hong Kong event about 5-6 years back…..memory is vagu, the beer does flow at that particular event. That same tournament Brent Russell was the star for South Africa and went on to play for the Springboks in 15-aside rugby within 12 months. So there is some precedent, and let’s hope O’connor has a career more like Horan’s and Giteau’s and less like Russell’s which was was as quick as he was