James O'Connor to miss out on start in Bledisloe Cup opener due to recent off-field incidents
THERE will be no James O'Connor on the team sheet when the Wallabies side to face the All Blacks on August 17 is read out.
THERE will be no James O'Connor on the team sheet when the Wallabies side to face the All Blacks on August 17 is read out.
Here's the latest. O'Connor failed to appear at the Wallabies team meeting in Sydney at 10am last Sunday morning, unsurprising considering he was heading into a Kings Cross club at 5.30am.
Kurtley Beale shared the clubbing but made the meeting.
It is staggering that O'Connor could have such a selfish view of the world. The coach who backed him for 40 Tests gave his thanks to the players for all they put in against the British and Irish Lions.
It essentially became the farewell speech as coach for Robbie Deans.
Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver made it clear that stricter team discipline is one of the key things he wants from new coach Ewen McKenzie.
Deans will be kicking himself on that score.
Team standards were once so important to Deans he punted a player from a match for being 30 seconds late to a team meeting.
Former All Blacks centre Tabai Matson recounted the hard love he copped in 1997 when Deans was starting out as coach-manager of Canterbury in New Zealand.
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Deans was right then and it will gall him that he didn't come down just as hard on the serial ill-discipline of O'Connor.
No action on O'Connor and Beale for missing the team bus for training before the third Test against the Lions, a week after their 4am burger bar night, lead to last Sunday's inevitable trip-up.
Those who have hysterically danced on Deans's grave this week should be ashamed.
While a change needed to be made, Deans's integrity, work ethic and passion for the Wallabies was always first class.
His achievements should not be trivialised.
His teams rebuilt a winning regularity abroad on hostile turf in Durban (twice), Bloemfontein, Paris, Cardiff, Rosario and other cities.
His best season was 2010 when the Wallabies ran nine tries through the Springboks in two Tests in South Africa and finished with a win over the All Blacks in Hong Kong and a 59-16 thrashing of France in Paris.
He was a dud selector at times with no back-up openside flanker taken to the 2011 World Cup and cutting loose Matt Giteau prematurely.
He was switched on at other times with James Horwill's elevation to the Test captaincy on the eve of the World Cup and one last memory. He got Jesse Mogg started in Test rugby and he could be a beauty.