James O’Connor’s no-show from the World Cup announcement will have immediate ramifications, with Wallabies coach Robbie Deans indicating in no uncertain terms that the young star will face the chop.
As broken exclusively on The Roar on Friday night, the 21 year old winger was absent from the squad announcement on Thursday after being spotted drinking at several establishments in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Wednesday night.
As the Wallabies prepare to avenge the 30-14 trouncing handed out to them in New Zealand earlier this month, the news could not come at a worse time, something Robbie Deans was all too aware of, labelling it “a distraction we could do without”.
He indicated there would be “likely consequences” for O’Connor, who will be called upon today by the ARU to explain his actions.
While there is no suggestion that O’Connor was involved in anything remotely untoward, missing such a major public event has left ARU officials and Wallabies teammates privately fuming and there is the feeling that the youngest member of the 30-man squad needs to knuckle down.
It is behaviour that senior team members will demand be stamped out immediately, as the Wallabies strain to find every last edge in preparation for the Tri Nations decider at Suncorp Stadium this Saturday night.
Former Wallabies stalwarts Phil Waugh and Adam Frier yesterday led calls for O’Connor to be disciplined for breaching team protocol.
Rightly or wrongly, O’Connor’s importance to the Wallabies overall Rugby World Cup plans means any serious ban is unlikely.
He reeled off some token quotes yesterday, but the meek explanations will no doubt fall on deaf ears.
But the public humiliation combined with the wrath of Deans and O’Connor’s Wallabies teammates should make the one-game ban he is likely to receive sufficient.
An ARU decision on any sanctions O’Connor will receive is expected today.
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- James OConnor, robbie deans, Rugby Union, wallabies
August 22nd 2011 @ 9:55am
Rugby Reg said | August 22nd 2011 @ 9:55am | Report comment
He is a man now at 21. He must learn, give him a two match ban and lets get on with rolling the blacks
August 22nd 2011 @ 10:05am
Worlds Biggest said | August 22nd 2011 @ 10:05am | Report comment
Yep drop him for Bledisloe and also a fine. To miss a World Cup squad announcement is simply unacceptable. Why couldn’t he front anyway, how sozzled was he ? The kid needs to buckle down and realise he isn’t the bees knees.
August 22nd 2011 @ 2:28pm
Sluggy said | August 22nd 2011 @ 2:28pm | Report comment
If you look at the baa baas side for Friday, there are 7 RWC squad members starting. Cliffy Palu may not get a run in the test (unless they go with 6 forwards and Burgess on the bench – unlikely) so my guess is the punishment could be limited to benching him because they need all the remaining 22 of the squad on Saturday. Antfinger to 13, AAC to the wing in place of JOC.
On the other hand taking Barnes, Horne or Mitchell from the baabaas and putting them on the bench on Saturday once the decision on JOC is issued TODAY is also possibility given the baa baas preparation wouldn’t be significantly disrupted by a late substitution. Is Sir Sterling back from Ireland yet?
PS: rumour has it that his drinking partner was KB, who fronted. So WB is right on that point.
August 22nd 2011 @ 10:15am
Harry said | August 22nd 2011 @ 10:15am | Report comment
Drop brand JOC altogether from the squad.If they were going on usual spring tour that’s what most probably would happen. Gits would make a good replacement on the wing.JOC is getting too big for his boots.
August 22nd 2011 @ 11:07am
Davo said | August 22nd 2011 @ 11:07am | Report comment
Ridiculous calls for him to miss world cup matches or the entire tournament. Geez you guys want to crucify someone for sleeping in and missing a morning function.
Missing it and the resultant public embarrassment is punishment enough…the world now knows him as a lightweight who can’t set his alarm properly. Let’s not forget these guys only just got back from SA. Body clocks would be all buggered.
Poor form by him to stay out so late and/or get so hammered that this could happen but if castrated every 20-21yr old who’s ever drunk a bit too much and overslept we’d have a nation of eunuchs…
August 22nd 2011 @ 11:13am
Johnno said | August 22nd 2011 @ 11:13am | Report comment
Davo JOC loves people like you and coaches like you and administrators way to soft on the star players. It’s as if if you are a star player as opposed to a fringe or regular player you get favouritism and double standards and that is unfair. ANd if JOC gets away with it it says we think you are more than a fringe player and value you highly coz of your marketability for example tp young fans and you generate crowds figures at matches as people come to watch the wallabies to see players like you, therefore we will tolerate the occasional lack of self dispicline and bad behaviour that would not be tolerated amongst lesser players. And what message does that send if you are talented and good you have more bargaining power and can get away with more misdemeanours and lack of self discipline sometimes, and that is double standard and unfair Davo.
August 23rd 2011 @ 7:28am
Davo said | August 23rd 2011 @ 7:28am | Report comment
I wasn’t defending JOC. My view would be the same if it was any other player….except maybe Dean Mumm who I would ban for life from the tahs and wallabies. It’s just not a big crime, certainly didn’t bring ‘the game’ in to disrepute and a fine would’ve been enough.
To all the Kiwis telling JOC to harden up just remember you’re the team whose players choose to hit each over the head with handbags when it comes to bar-room brawls !!
August 22nd 2011 @ 11:55am
RedsNut said | August 22nd 2011 @ 11:55am | Report comment
I thought/read somewhere that they were staying in a hotel. Why didn’t someone go and bang on his door?
Pretty poor show by JOC all the same
August 22nd 2011 @ 12:34pm
ilikedahoodoogurusingha said | August 22nd 2011 @ 12:34pm | Report comment
Apparently they couldn’t find him on Thurs morning, which kind of suggests he wasn’t at the hotel.
August 22nd 2011 @ 12:00pm
southernwaratah said | August 22nd 2011 @ 12:00pm | Report comment
Who amongst us wasn’t wrapped over the knuckles in our early 20′s for a silly decision?
Ricky Ponting are you out there?
Jimmy O to be a Wallaby captain one day!
August 22nd 2011 @ 7:41pm
jeremy said | August 22nd 2011 @ 7:41pm | Report comment
Those of us who did wild dumbass stuff in our twenties generally weren’t worth millions with massive sponsorships and huge apparatuses to tell us how to behave. Seriously, the amount of media and behavioural training that they get is incredible, and he’s touting himself as a brand, so he’ll have a manager to guide him on the basics, like DON’T MISS THE GROUP PHOTO BEFORE THE RUGBY WORLD CUP.
It’s not like he’s turning up hungover to run drive-through at McDonalds Surry Hills…
August 22nd 2011 @ 12:07pm
Nat said | August 22nd 2011 @ 12:07pm | Report comment
I’m just glad this happened now and not just prior to the WC finals.
To those calling for him to be thrown out of the WC; go back to NZ. We know who you really support!
August 22nd 2011 @ 6:47pm
jaysper said | August 22nd 2011 @ 6:47pm | Report comment
Dude, the way he performed at Eden Park? Really?
Happened to think he was one of the ABs bet players!
August 22nd 2011 @ 12:52pm
AdamS said | August 22nd 2011 @ 12:52pm | Report comment
He’s young, possibly reads a little too much of his own press and has made a silly mistake.
There seems to be an awful lot of calls to pillory this guy for some rather meaningless misadventures, particulalry the whole “brand” comment. Hands up anyone who hasn’t gotten pissed and slept in. (if you hand is up you have led a boring life, put it down before anyone notices you idiot.)
Leaving him out of any games where he would be the first choice player is both spiteful and silly.
Let him do his apoligising in the changeroom and on the field.
And get over yourselves…
August 22nd 2011 @ 7:44pm
jeremy said | August 22nd 2011 @ 7:44pm | Report comment
Hands up anyone who hasn’t gotten pissed and slept in.
hand is up. I went to work hungover – have never called in sick no matter how grotty I felt. Better to be at work hungover and earning money than being at home feeling crappy.
As mentioned above, JOC is not an entry-level worker making his merry way in the workforce. He’s a representative and ambassador for his country, rugby, and to a certain extent his player group. Of all the dumbass mistakes you can make, this is right up there.
August 22nd 2011 @ 1:24pm
sheek said | August 22nd 2011 @ 1:24pm | Report comment
Southernwaratah,
Poor diddums O’Connor. The guy is only 21, why is everyone so hard on him?
In both world wars, & the Vietnam war, there were guys only 19, who were expected to take their place in the front line, & die for their country, if necessary.
Do you think the diggers would have taken kindly to anyone missing their post because they were inebriated the night before? No Sir!
Fortunately for O’Connor, the situation is not so dire, but neither should the consequences be treated any less seriously.
It doesn’t matter what age we are, there are some times, some commitments, when we’re expected to attend front & centre, & no excuse other than the totally unexpected & unavoidable is permitted.
It’s people like you, with your bleeding heart forgiveness, who make O’Connor the apparent imbecile he has become (if various media reports are true). A player who thinks his “brand” is more important than anyone else, who conveniently forgets he is part of a team, & owes his success to others.
No doubt you will be delighted I don’t run the ARU, because if I did, I would cut O’Connor from the world cup squad altogether!
The message I would hope to send to him, is that the game is bigger than any individual, & if he wants to be a part of the Wallabies, & hopefully he will want to be, he must learn to put the team before the individual.
Only by taking something away from O’Connor that he treasures, might the message finally sink in. Taking a 2011 world cup appearance away from him, will teach him a brutal lesson.
I would send the same message to the other Wallabies, that wearing the gold jersey is a great honour, never to be treated flippantly with an attitude of “Oh, I’ll have a go today if I feel like it”.
The matches this year against both Samoa & the All Blacks were examples of individual players failing to sufficiently respect their jersey, their team & their country.
As coach Robbie Deans said: “If you can’t trust someone off the field, then it’s likely you can’t trust them on the field”.
We have to stop this nanny state existent, & introduce some tough love.
Besides, we don’t need James O’Connor. Not now anyway. He’s a good player, but not the best, not even in the Wallabies, let alone the world. One day he might be, if he cares to learn the lessons…..
August 22nd 2011 @ 1:58pm
AdamS said | August 22nd 2011 @ 1:58pm | Report comment
Lets just nail him up to the uprights shall we? Put a crown of studs on his head? The Romans would have loved you.
Comparisons to Diggers on the line is a bit harsh Sheek.
August 22nd 2011 @ 2:48pm
sheek said | August 22nd 2011 @ 2:48pm | Report comment
Yep,
The guy needs to be taught a lesson. And if the media rumblings are true, his ego needs reeling in.
There were two guys in AFL – Carey & Cousins – & another in rugby league today – Carney – that people couldn’t say “no” to. They all went off the rails thinking they could do as they pleased.
One of the harshest lessons to learn in life, is that we are accountable for most of things that happen to us – good, bad or otherwise. The sooner we learn this harsh lesson, the better people we become.
It would be doing O’Connor a favour for his personal development to put some boundaries around him…..
August 22nd 2011 @ 3:22pm
AdamS said | August 22nd 2011 @ 3:22pm | Report comment
Ehh, get back to me when he misses training or a recovery session, then I’ll be worried.
Until then he is just a kid who done something silly. Been there, done that, nobody died.
There is a theory that Cipriani wnt off the rails _because_ of his dropping. It’s all people managment, the ARU like every other sports admin needs to remember that in a lot of cases they are dealing with kids, gifted, but kids nontheless.
August 22nd 2011 @ 5:57pm
Johnno said | August 22nd 2011 @ 5:57pm | Report comment
AdamS this is where the attitudes wrong in Australia. once you are 18 you are an adult not a kid. And 21 is not a kid, it is a fully grown totally physically developed man just about if not already. ANd mentally one develops but by 18 one is an adult nota teenager or kid or child. JOC is an adult in the adult world forever , for the rest of his life. High school is over for these so called kids forever get over it JOC. If they want to act like kids scale them and let them go back to HIGH School and be like kids or teenagers. I see it in Australia compared to other adults as i hate using the term kids for adult, form overseas nations. And they tell me young adult Australians are often amongst the most immature, and care free people they have met. Meaning basically we are spoilt for oppurtunites our young adults in this country. So many employment options given to adults in 20′s here comparatively ,and weather and all sorts of options that people in 3rd world nations can only dream about.
They should take the wallaby boys to like a homeless refuge or watch a video on 3rd world poverty or wars being fought in the world. It would help snap them out of this spoilt i can sleep in culture and get away with it. Also apparently the mELBOURNE STORM HAVE a program like that will some charity organisations for disadvantaged people, and aCraig Bellamy says the players get a lot out of it and appreciate what they got and play better. Maybe as rugby is an upper class sport in this nation mainly , maybe visiting some charities might help this upper middle class to rich adults of the privileges, and not be complacent and treat there jobs with such casualness and contempt as JOC has. I hope the ARU and Robbie Deans sit down with him this week and say this, you can play this weekend we need you to have match fitness if you are to be part of this squad, if you stuff up again you are sacked form RWC squad and maybe have your contract ripped up to. Then we will see how badly JOC wants to be part of the wallabies. other wise if not Japan or South of France may be his new home
August 22nd 2011 @ 6:56pm
AdamS said | August 22nd 2011 @ 6:56pm | Report comment
Your second para would be a perfect punishment. make him go and do homeless or other charity work, the grubbier the better. my only real point is that dropping him from the coming game is a little bit like cutting off our nose. Its pointless.
August 23rd 2011 @ 9:19am
Cattledog said | August 23rd 2011 @ 9:19am | Report comment
Nothing harsh at all in what you have said, Sheek, and I’m, as you’re probably aware, 100% behind you. Unfortunately there’s a lot of posters on here who have never had to front up and consider what he’s done is just some 20 YO sleeping in…no big deal, until sponsors say ‘we’re looking pretty stupid in all this, find yourself another money tree’. After all, times are tough! QANTAS are already shedding a huge number from their workforce, pretty simple to know where significant more saving could be made!!!!
I have called all along for his sacking, even though I’m a huge JOC fan. However, I’m also smart enough to understand the ramifications of something like this. If a one match ban and a suspended 10k sentence is what he gets (reports I’ve heard), then it would seem to me they have accepted brand O’Connor runs the show and are not prepared to set the bar high and instead, accept mediocrity.
The ARU take this action at their own peril.