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It is quite obvious by now that young James O’Connor is a firm favourite of Deans and he sees the the Western Force player as a key component of his drive towards the World Cup.
The problem lies in that in O’Connor’s two preferred positions of second five and full back are taken up already by Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper, respectively.
With Digby Ioane and Peter Hynes out injured, the problem was solved for Deans in that he could slot O’Connor on the wide-out and he could gain more experience at Test level in an “easier” and less intense position.
Well out of this solution for one player, Deans has caused a new problem for the whole team.
Deans created a style of play that incorporated the classic style of winger. One where speed and being in the right place at the right time were the pre-requisite requirements.
So his team learned how to play with these widemen doing a certain type of job.
So when the two first choice wingers were out injured, Deans went for one like for like in Mitchell, but went for the wild card in James O’Connor. O’Connor is predigously talented, but doesn’t possess top level straight line speed or the knowledge of the nuances and kinks of positioning for a wing at Super rugby level, let alone international level.
At the end of the Tri-Nations, his team-mates might finally be becoming more aware of how to play to O’Connor’s strengths and style of play only for that to be disrupted once more when the natural wingers come back for the Spring Tour.
So my question to you Roarers is, is the selection of James O’Connor more damaging to the Wallabies than any other incident or event over the past couple of months of international Test rugby?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.