Ex-Wallaby slams departing O'Connor

If there is a no d!ckheads policy what is KB doing in the side. How many chances was he given? I'm not saying his form in the past few games hasn't merited inclusion. But sure as hell his last few years haven't. This bloke always performed for the wallabies. RG is terrible at getting anything out of his players and I understand his frustration. I would leave to and as a reds supporter I have. Comments by Marto were way out of line and he needs to pull his head in. I'm actually surprised Liam Gill hasn't found a way to slip out the back door. They must've promised him how much different it would be this year and he must love being around family to stay. I feel sorry for th guy.

yeah its interesting.. but I think Campo was almost OCD in his approach to rugby and being the best he could be despite some pretty glaring flaws defensively. There's a difference between a tool and someone who is so up themselves that they actually bring the team around them down. I would say Cipriano and JOC are the latter. Fair point, its the rugby world cup, not the nice guy world cup. Some players though, you gotta ask: why do coaches not want them? Cipriano's been in bust ups with two different England backs coaches before two different world cups.

Not sure I agree Peter. He is seriously down on pace at the moment and has been (fairly or unfairly) marked as an immature d1ckhead by his peers and is trying to crack the national squad during a really big (Cheika) cultural shift in the wallabies. The Force let him go because he wanted his contract to give him power over how the team was coached - serious ego issues and one gets the feeling that he might be hard to direct. He was a massive talent - pace, power and footwork - but his current injuries may never see him recapture past form, and with a personality that "big", you really have to be one of the worlds best to fit in the team ie: Campo, Kevin Pieterson. He is not THAT good.

He posted this on Twitter: http://youtu.be/qOCN4dkyvp4 In response to Marto spraying people for making mistakes. Seems he hit the mark.

Johnson this is not unique to Australian culture it is common all over the world for sports people or celebs in the public eye. Corporate sponsors like Qantas, BMW, Asics e.t.c don't want controversy they want ambassadors that the majority of Australians are proud of. Teams that win and are known for their good behaviour are more likely attract bluechip sponsors. This is fact, look at how challenging it has been for the Sharks and Bulldogs to get sponsors in the past, it wasn't because they weren't winning. The sponsors were afraid to be associated with them. You might not like this side of professional sport but I reckon you are in the minority and I don't know of any sponsors putting up the cash who agree with you. and TWAS I don't know about your job but many have behavioural standards that extend beyond the 9 to 5. If my employer found out that I had been turned away from a flight because I was drunk and argumentative, they would not be pleased, even if I was going on holidays. My missus would kick my butt too.

Are you talking about O'Connor or Greg Martin?

Definitely not an ordinary footballer. For most of his tests, he never let the Wallabies down, and was probably our most consistent back for a time. Don't rewrite history.

Where did you see crocodile tears. ?

And after the said team mate let a player through to score a try.... thompson deserved a spray....

Exactly!

I don't personally care about the sponsors and I don't really understand why you would care about the sponsors. If the sponsors feel aggrieved they can take action through the appropriate channels with the ARU (I.e sue them).

JoC is a loss to aust rugby, I wish he could of stayed.

TWAS, I have a mate that was in the squad for a Brisbane test in the late 80's and was unfortunate enough to have to room with Marto and funnily enough I remember him using the word tool to describe him, biggest I've ever met if I recall correctly. It made his week when Marto informed him that being in Brisbane, he was going to stay at his girlfriend's place for the week.

Well Johnson he does have an obligation to represent the sponsors well in public.

Oh please. I hate this part of Australian culture that we drag sportsmen down when they are not working. I don't care what job he does. His time off is his. My weekends are mine. It's so sanctamonious. He was drunk in his own time at an airport and I don't care. "Won't somebody think of the children!!!"

So you can't think of it like a workplace, because you and I just need to not f--- up for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

When you are in public eye it never ends, that's the point. When you are a Wallaby you are held to a higher standard than a regular joe. If you don't like that then play park footy or p155 off to France.

Where does the work place end? He wasn't travelling with the team, he was going on holidays.

Rebels - Well they felt burned. They didn't want him because of his last stint. Fair enough. Hold that against JOC. The Brumbies - Well where was he going to fit in exactly? In the outside backs they have Ah Wong, Dargaville, Mogg, Coleman, Tomane and Speight. At 10 and 12 they have Toomua and Leali'ifano. Why on earth would they entertain the prospect of a high paid recruit to fill positions that area already taken. Of course Cheika laughed at the prospect. He had Foley at 10, Beale at 12 and Folau at 15. In his time he had shown no interest in recruiting big name wingers preferring unproven players like Naiyavoro, Betham and Alofa so of course he would not pay any decent money for O'Conner on the wing. Then there was the Force. They were interested before he left remember, so it's more likely he didn't fit into their need for players. It's hard enough to manage a cap and squad without spending big money on a player who plays a position you already have well covered. That's how you end up with massive weaknesses in positions. At the time the Reds were really the only team with a need for JOC with no established fullback options.

Does anyone recall how Campo used to run out onto the field? He used to wait until the whole team had run on ahead of himself, and then run on by himself 20 m behind. It was like he was trying to tell the world "I am an individual, not part of this team". Imagine if JOC tried that now.