Why Wallabies must pick James O’Connor, or run the risk of getting outsmarted by British and Irish Lions
To win this series, Australia must get creative or else the Lions will be able to pick off every tactic, writes Quade Cooper. And there’s no more ‘outside the box’ move than picking James O’Connor.
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James O’Connor must be picked for the Wallabies against the British & Irish Lions, and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii should be unleashed on the wing or inside centre.
To win this series against the powerful touring side, Australia must get creative and think outside the box, or else the Lions will be able to pick off every tactic.
It’s time for some home truths about Australian rugby, and frankly, I feel compelled to share them.
Having been on the receiving end of the Wallabies’ playmaking pressures for years – and copping my fair share of abuse as the Wallabies No. 10 – I’ve got some clear-eyed thoughts on what our team needs to truly contend with the Lions, and why we’ve been stuck in this frustrating cycle for so long.
This isn’t just about picking names; it’s about building a squad with strategic depth and, more critically, forging a long-lost identity.
WHY ‘OLD HEAD’ O’CONNOR IS A MUST
Let me be clear – Noah Lolesio, Ben Donaldson, and Tom Lynagh are all quality players. They each bring strong game management, solid kicking games, and composure well beyond their years. The challenge isn’t about their ability, it’s about their similarity.
They’re all cut from a very similar cloth: smart, skilled, steady. But in a high-stakes series like this, where unpredictability and adaptability are key, you need variety. You need contrast.
That’s where someone like O’Connor becomes critical.
His experience, creativity, and ability to see the game from a different angle adds something this group doesn’t yet have. He offers a different lens, a different voice in the room, which can elevate the entire unit.
What also plays into this is Donaldson’s versatility. He’s shown he can cover 15, which means you could carry Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and play him predominantly on the wing while having him available at 12 behind Hunter Paisami, and Tom Wright as your fullback with the ability to plug Suaalii in, freeing you up to stack your forward pack or bench with more firepower. It gives you flexibility without sacrificing depth at 10 or 15.
You don’t build a winning squad by picking the same type of player three times over. You build it by creating a mix by bringing different skill sets, mindsets, and backgrounds into the same space. That’s how you get an edge. When you look at the Lions, their tens offer real diversity: Marcus Smith is super agile and creative. Finn Russell is very creative and has unique kicking skills. And if they bring Owen Farrell in at some stage during the tour, he is a very physical fly half who will put a shoulder very aggressively into you. These guys are very different.
This uniformity in our Australian options is precisely why O’Connor, despite his age of 34, becomes not just a strong contender but an essential component of the Wallabies squad. I believe that to truly challenge an opponent, you need diversity of thought and experience.
If everyone in the squad learned from the same book, you’re going to get the same answer out of the same textbook when faced with complex challenges.
You need different perspectives to come up with the best ideas.
This is where O’Connor’s value truly shines. You need an old head like O’Connor.
O’Connor, in particular, has made a compelling case by going over to the Crusaders and putting himself in one of the best teams in the history of the sport. This move to the most successful team in the best competition in the southern hemisphere wasn’t about securing a starting spot but about learning a different way of playing.
He’s in a mentoring role. He’s there to learn, to guide, support, and compete. His experience in a different system, combined with his competitive drive to push those guys makes him a vital voice – one who can play devil’s advocate a little bit and challenge conventional thinking. For me, he’s one guy that should be in the squad.
The public needs to understand that if you pick three guys that are exactly the same, the opposing team will have worked out a way to combat or attack them and target them. They won’t have to think anything because they just run the same plan.
But if you have three guys that have slight differences, opponents will have to figure out three different ways to attack them. More importantly, you’ll have three different minds to be able to put your heads together and think, okay, how can we break down their defence? How can we figure out what they’re trying to run at us and come up with a plan? That’s the key.
UNLEASHING SUAALII
Turning to the midfield, I believe Suaalii can be a generational talent, and the challenge for playmakers is to unlock him and his abilities. While many might eye him for fullback, I’d suggest a shrewd tactical deployment: Suaalii at wing or as a back-up at inside centre.
Suaalii, despite being relatively new to the game at this level, is an undeniable freak. His raw arsenal is immense: He’s physical, he’s big, can move and has some serious skills on him.
His skills in the air will make it a nightmare for opposition to mark him on cross-field kicks, and he is a proven finisher.
But placing that kind of power and dynamism at No.12 immediately creates a defensive headache for the opposition.
The masterstroke is who he partners with, if Paisami isn’t at inside centre. I unequivocally state that Len Ikitau is, in my opinion, the best No.13 in the world right now.
Ikitau is a certainty to start, offering a left foot and unparalleled defensive prowess. There is no better defensive 13 than him in the game.
The thought of pairing Suaalii’s attacking threat and sheer physicality at 12 with Ikitau’s world-class defensive solidity and skill at 13 is mouth-watering. I think it’s a lethal combination.
This partnership would offer both a devastating attacking platform and a defensive wall in the heart of the field, which is crucial against a big, physical, skilled Lions team.
WALLABIES’ IDENTITY CRISIS: A DECADE OF COACHING CHAOS
The most frustrating narrative around the Wallabies over the past decade has been that we don’t produce quality playmakers.
I’ve been in the No.10 jersey for the Wallabies. I’ve copped the pressure, the praise, the criticism. I know what it’s like to try and lead a team through the chaos of constant change, all while trying to make sense of what Australian rugby actually stands for.
The core problem is that the coaches change every freaking two years.
During my time with the Wallabies, I played under five coaches; Robbie Deans, Ewen McKenzie, Michael Cheika, Dave Rennie, and Eddie Jones. And there’s already a new coach in Joe Schmidt, with the changeover to Les Kiss happening next year.
This constant churn means you’re changing the program every two years, and so consistent development is impossible.
When a new coach sweeps in, the whole set-up changes, the structure of the camps, the structure of who’s coaching, the structure of how you’re playing.
This isn’t just disruptive; it’s crippling. Australia has been unable to cultivate a distinct style of play because they’re trying to get the best coach that’s out there right now, rather than adhering to a foundational Australian identity.
As a result, Australian play over the last 15 years has had no identity to it.
I contrast this with global rugby powerhouses:
• The All Blacks: Every time a coach comes in, their system is the All Blacks system. Coaches often have prior involvement and simply keep moving it forward.
• The Springboks: South Africa is still South Africa no matter who has coached their team. They’ve just been able to add layers to it, integrating better players into certain positions without tearing up the whole playbook. Their forward pack has not changed, they just add younger players to the mix that are more talented than the next.
This perpetual cycle of change in the Wallabies leads to the dreaded word heard so much in Australian rugby: ‘rebuild’.
Every new coach starts building from the ground up. It’s a self-perpetuating problem.
My message is clear, at some point there has to be consistency. The Wallabies need to define their big rocks as an organisation, and their “DNA”.
Only then can they establish principles of what you coach on that transcend individual coaching tenures, allowing true development and a consistent, winning identity.
Without that, the frustrations for playmakers and the team as a whole will continue to fester, leaving the Wallabies in a perpetual state of ‘rebuilding’ instead of genuine contention.
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Originally published as Why Wallabies must pick James O’Connor, or run the risk of getting outsmarted by British and Irish Lions
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