FIRST PICS: James O'Connor back at Wallabies training, ex-teammates say he'd be \"ideal\" for World Cup

Wed, Jul 3, 2019, 5:06 AM
Emma Greenwood
by Emma Greenwood
Wallabies flyhalf Bernard Foley has welcomed the return of James O'Connor, highlighting the playmaker's desire to represent his country again. O'Connor surfaced as training this morning in Brisbane as the side prepares for the Rugby Championship.

Former Wallabies stars Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau say James O'Connor is an "ideal candidate" for a return to the Test fold given the genuine changes he has made to his life.

O'Connor flew into Brisbane from Sydney on Tuesday night before being invited to train with the Wallabies at Wests Rugby Club on Wednesday morning.

It's understood a deal has been done with Rugby Australia after O'Connor was released from the final year of his contract with English club Sale and while the Reds are reportedly still conducting due diligence on the classy back, he is all but certain to link with Queensland for next season.

O'Connor will not be parachuted into Australia's squad for its Rugby Championship opener in South Africa and is instead likely to continue training with the wider Wallabies squad when they return.

In what was O'Connor's first training session with the Wallabies since 2013, the 44-Test cap utility showed glimpses of his former self with some deft passing and nice footwork.

There are no guarantees O'Connor's 11th-hour crack at World Cup selection will work but Michael Cheika extended a training invitation to get a close-up look at the player Ewen McKenzie once forecast could play 200 Tests for the Wallabies.

O'Connor exited Australian rugby on bad terms in 2013, however, after a string of off-field controversies and he has played overseas since, both in France and England.

Mitchell, a former teammate at the Force and Toulon who met with the 28-year-old in the past week, is a former sceptic-turned-backer of O'Connor and said he was "brave" to test the waters when he knew his return to Australia would stoke up criticism and doubters.

"That's the word I would use is brave - he's putting himself out there," Mitchell said.

"He knows that there's going to be a section of the community out there that are going to be against it.

"I think the difference this time around is that he's not just saying the right things, he's living it now.

"I think he would probably agree that last time he was saying those things - probably believing it himself that he was doing the right things - but his actions were perhaps a bit different to what he's talking about.

"This time around, he owns the decisions he's made in the past.

"Sometimes, he probably tried to water them down or shy away from them or almost skip over them and not take that full ownership and accountability for it, whereas now he (acknowledges) he made those choices and is taking ownership of the position it put him in and put others in and I think that's the difference for me, from last time around."

With the ability to play anywhere in the backline except scrumhalf, O'Connor's versatility would make him the "ideal candidate" for a World Cup spot, Mitchell said.

"It's not so much because he can play (a number of) positions - there are a number of players within Australian rugby that can play a number of positions - but the thing that makes sense for James is not just that he can but he has played those positions," Mitchell said.

"He's played a British and Irish Lions test at no.10, he's played Test matches on the wing, at fullback and at 12 and he's been in those situations, not just that he's a guy that has the potential to play a different position.

"And I think in that World Cup environment, that's really important."

In a story for the website PlayersVoice, Giteau said he was pleased O'Connor would have the chance to return to the Wallabies fold.

"Returning to the Wallabies is something he desperately wants now," Giteau said.

"If you’ve got someone of his talent who’s desperate to play for his country, and do all the right things, it makes sense to bring him back in.

"It would be silly not to at least consider him for that squad. It would be a waste if he didn’t get another opportunity – for him and Australian rugby."

Giteau, who also played with O'Connor in Toulon and has kept in touch since, said he had matured significantly since having his contract torn up by the then-ARU in 2013.

"He now understands how much he enjoyed playing for Australia, and how much he has missed not playing for his country having been given such an opportunity at such a young age," Giteau said.

"When something is taken away from you, you realise how much you miss it.

"When he wasn’t able to play at his level, that frustrated him. Now he’s back playing at a level he wants to be at, you can see he’s enjoying rugby and enjoying training hard and seeing the benefits.

"If there is any reluctance in Australia to welcome him back, that would be from previous James. I think a lot still see him as that 23-year-old who worried about his ‘brand’. He’s not that same guy."

Mitchell, who with Giteau returned from overseas to play in the 2015 World Cup, said O'Connor knew he would face criticism from sections of the rugby public not just for his past behaviour but a perception that he was being parachuted into the team.

But what he liked was the lack of any grandiose statements from O'Connor about what he was going to do, rather a burning desire to play for Australia again.

"James isn't the one that's making any noise. He's not coming out making any grandstand comments or statements that he's going to do this or going to do that," Mitchell said.

"He's just saying that he wants to and when you go away and that opportunity is taken from you - and granted, that opportunity has been taken from him because of the decisions he's made - you miss that.

"I'm liking that I'm seeing James talk about how he wants that and he wants to be involved in that and he's hoping to do the best he can to be in that environment again."

Flyhalf Bernard Foley said it was great to see O'Connor wanting to be back in the Wallabies fold.

"It's great that guys are putting their hands up and wanting to be part of the Wallabies team," Foley said.

"James has come back today and has already shown that he's a quality player and he's got that intent and that desire to come back and play for the Wallabies.

"And that's only a good thing. It builds the competition, builds the competitiveness around the team and selections and each person driving each other to be a better player."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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