Controversial and sometimes wayward back James O’Connor is eagerly buying into the revised Wallabies culture and is getting some early credit from new coach Ewen McKenzie.
O’Connor incurred some disciplinary blemishes and unwanted media headlines under former coach Robbie Deans, most recently being spotted at a fast food restaurant at 4am in the week of the second Test against the British and Irish Lions.
“I don’t play rugby to be talked about off the field,” said O’Connor on Monday as he waits to learn if he’ll be selected by McKenzie for Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup opener against the All Blacks in Sydney.
“I’m playing rugby because I love it and that’s what I want to be doing, playing for my country.”
McKenzie spoke to the players after they assembled last week about what he expects in terms of standards of behaviour.
“It’s not hard to do, it’s just putting the team first,” said O’Connor of McKenzie’s requirements.
“I can’t express everything, but it’s something I’m pretty excited about.
“It’s something I know I can be part of.”
O’Connor revealed he was already making changes to his own approach as well as embracing the new team culture.
“There’s definitely things that I already have changed and am in the process of doing, personal things,” O’Connor said.
“It’s not an easy process, I just keep on moving forward.”
McKenzie recognised and praised O’Connor’s efforts.
“Credit to him, he’s just invested through action more than words,” McKenzie said.
“He’s gone and done a few things which have invested in rugby.
“He went out there and played some club footy. He was water boy one week.
“I think he actually enjoyed all that, I think he’s recalibrated a little bit.”
While O’Connor has rarely had to worry about making the starting side, he is taking nothing for granted, especially after established prop Benn Robinson was dropped last week.
“That was a surprise to all of us, that was definitely a wake up call,” O’Connor said.
“Even our best performers if you are not playing or not training right, you’re not going to be playing.”
O’Connor was excited about McKenzie’s vision of the way he wants Australia to play, especially the scope for individual expression.
He was philosophical about McKenzie’s decision to move him from five-eighth – where he played against the Lions – and consider him as an outside back.
“I’ve spent most of my time in Test football out wider, so I guess looking at the Lions Test series, we weren’t successful there, so it wasn’t too big a shock,” O’Connor said.
Currently out of contract after the Melbourne Rebels declined to offer him a new deal, O’Connor said he was only focusing on the Bledisloe Cup matches and not his Super Rugby future at the moment.
Mike
Guest
So, its guaranteed that we are going to play better now, RugbyNut? ;)
RugbyNut
Guest
Ding Dong Deans is gone!!!! The time has finally come, where we all get to watch a Wallabies game with correct pairings. Having JOC at 5/8 during the Lions tour was madness by anybodys standards let alone allowing him in the team after multiple indiscretions. First step for O'connor winning back the fans and team mates respect is performing this weekend on the field. Welcome to the helm big Link and Go You Wallabies!!!!!
soapit
Guest
thats a shame i dont meet your standards. unfortunately i cant see myself changing anything based on your opinion so it likely wont be the last time your get this feeling.
Mike
Guest
I don't "have to rely on insults" soapit, that's just it - given your own reliance on insults, I am surprised you would even bring it up. It is so exasperating when you start setting up straw men and responding to posts when it is apparent that you haven't even read them, or just skimmed over them.
soapit
Guest
i have nothing more to add and shouldnt have even responded to your original almost entirely personal response. hopefully in future you can respond with with points that are strong enough to not have to rely on insults.
Mike
Guest
"no, its only you that i require proof from mike given my experience of you." Your experience of me is that I get my facts right, so that is no more than your irritation at being challenged. "i'm also curious do you seriously not see a link between these statements?" No, there isn't – not even close. I quoted Mckenzie's statement verbatim. He referred to possibly using O'Connor at 10 at some unspecified time in the future – and then immediately after that I wrote that I thought McKenzie would use him at fullback in the next match! Somehow you then decided that I expected McKenzie to use him at flyhalf in the next match – utterly irrational. The bit about drawing a line through any player – again, far from suggesting this, I believed the opposite and that should have been clear. Yet somehow you decided that I had an issue with this… Again, quite irrational.
Blinky Bill of Bellingen
Guest
Thanks for trying guys but there's simply no point in me blaming anyone else, thick fingers or fashions. :( I've got as much chance of coming out of this undamaged as we have of rolling the All Blacks on the weekend. :( Just remember the old rule 'what happens on the forum, stays on the forum'. :) Now .....GO THE WALLABIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)
soapit
Guest
no, its only you that i require proof from mike given my experience of you. once someone else confirmed you statement i was ready to accept it. its true though i didnt remember initially how many tests he'd played there 4 years ago but not sure my post represented a lecture. i'll just chalk that up as another example of someone skewing events to make themselves seem on the right side of a discussion. i bow to your experience on ocnonnors early career. as such, what explanation can your imagination produce for him being constantly tried and then benched other the not being able to hold your spot sense? i'm also curious do you seriously not see a link between these statements? Mike: Also interesting that McKenzie said today that he has ruled nothing out in future........had by no means ruled out using him at five-eighth. Soapit: “youd be foolish to expect him to draw a line through any position a player has had some experience .......and you’re kidding yourself if you think oconnor is in the frame to be the starting 10″ no doubt it is tiresome trying to pretend clear connections like this dont exist and having to skew everyones comments for you to feel right about yours. it would be easier if you just went with the truth and discuss based on that (or ignore) but that would require your behaviour to be intentional which i dont think it is.
Hopperdoggy
Guest
Shirts were all the rage with women in the '40s weren't they Blinky?
Mike
Guest
We have indeed been over this soapit, and it does not appear that you have remembered what we discussed. This is hardly surprising since you initially confidently asserted that he had only played 2 tests at fullback! Even when assured by others that he had played a large number of tests there you did not want to accept it and demanded proof. Yet I would have thought it is common knowledge that O'Connor started his career at fullback and remained in that position over several series. You clearly did not have a clue about the first 18 months of his career, yet were prepared to lecture others about it. O'Connor was not being "regularly moved to the bench" in the sense of not being able to hold his spot (no more so than any other regular back). And even if you were correct in this, what relevance does it have to the point I was making? Liam Ovenden asserted that moving O'Connor to fullback was a "positional switch" from wing. As I correctly pointed out, this is not correct - he started at fullback and moving him to wing was the "positional switch". "youd be foolish to expect him to draw a line through any position a player has had some experience in" Oh please, go set up your straw men elsewhere. You don't appear to have read a single word of my post. "and you’re kidding yourself if you think oconnor is in the frame to be the starting 10"] Again, do you bother to read posts before responding to them? I'm sorry, but this is just tiresome.
soapit
Guest
and he wasnt able to cement a spot in the starting side until he went to wing. we've been over this mike. during those 16 tests you state he was regularly being moved to the bench (as opposed to a positional shift). time will tell if mckenzie wants to give him another crack at fullback and, if so, whether he'll suceed and become a long term starting 15 this time and i doubt he'd rule anything out. if oconnors in the 22 he might well get used at 10 if there are enough injuries and depending on who else was in the team. youd be foolish to expect him to draw a line through any position a player has had some experience in. thats a long way from being a preferred option though and you're kidding yourself if you think oconnor is in the frame to be the starting 10 barring multiple injuries and/or massive fluctuations in form (in multiple players)..
Mike
Guest
I am glad he hasn't.
Mike
Guest
Like the last game against the Crusaders?
Mike
Guest
Winger was a "positional switch". He played his first 16 tests for the Wallabies either at 15 or coming off the bench to replace 15. In his first test at 15 he scored three tries. Anyway I'm just guessing. We'll know soon enough .
Liam Ovenden
Roar Pro
I doubt it. Ewens teams have organisation and thoughtful game plans. Deans teams looked totally disorganised and basic in their attacking approach.
Liam Ovenden
Roar Pro
Can't help himself, will not learn.
Liam Ovenden
Roar Pro
Oh jeez, no. He is a fantastic test winger, but every other positional switch has perfectly demonstrated that the "Peter Principle" applies to Rugby as much as it does to corporate life.
Skills & Techniques
Guest
One little tweet Rhino? Then he reinforced his toxic comments on Fox Sports, while his heavily undermanned team prepared to take on RSA, like a spoiled twat. No wonder they got sick of him.
Charging Rhino
Guest
Geez mate, QC sent one tweet about the Wallabies and their current culture on some random day in a moment when he probably wasn't feeling too great as he was injured and missing out and didn't really think about the ramifications of the tweet or the fact that it would get such major news, and then suddenly everyone thinks he backstabbed everybody and he's such a bad boy etc etc. And 10 months later people are still talking about it on rugby websites and he misses out on a Lions series because of it! Give the guy a break!! Have you seen how many tweets he sends in a day? The guy has tweeted 30,600 times since his twitter account opened! I'm sure he'd say that he deeply regrets sending that one, even if he honestly felt that things could've be better in the Wallaby camp at that time or frustrated with how they were playing, and I'm sure he realises now that voicing his view about this on social media was NOT the way to do it. It was simply a thoughtless act on a random day.... Let it go.
colvin
Guest
Hoy, he can't handle the top league at 12. Guy's like Nonu, Sonny-Bill, Davies and Roberts of the Lions , Saili the new ABs 12, whoever will be the Boks 12s, are all just too big. He would be targeted. He's done well at right wing before and IMO needs to stay there. There's nothing to stop him trying to become a 10. But to do that he would need to work hard at 10 at Club and Super level for a couple of years and see if he can earn that spot in the WBs. But not have it given to him like against the Lions.