Deprive to revive: How bizarre Icelandic training camp gave JOC new life

James O’Connor has transformed himself from a non-stop party animal into a matchwinner, Julian Linden reveals the bizarre training course that helped the one-time boy wonder become a man.

James O’Connor repaid Michael Cheika’s faith. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt

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True to his word, reborn Wallaby hero James O’Connor’s time to shine has arrived.

It’s taken way longer than anyone expected, and there’s been plenty of bumps along the way, but at 29, the boy wonder is finally turning into a man.

Once a non-stop party animal, the reformed teetotaller credits his turnaround to a bizarre men’s training course in Iceland that involved deep meditation and depriving himself of basic senses, until he came to his senses.

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James O’Connor repaid Michael Cheika’s faith. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt

“I knew I had it in me to do it but there was a lot of things that had to go right. I just had to be disciplined and win the day every day,” he said.

“I’ve been dedicated and I wouldn’t be here without the help of an organisation called Saviour World.

“If I didn’t have them, I’d still be in the wilderness in the UK. So a lot of this goes to them for giving me that strength, the power to really chase what I wanted.”

A year ago, when O’Connor posted a photo of himself immersed in an icy bath with a message that he had changed his ways, the naysayers were reduced to fits of laughter.

After all, the teenage prodigy has a long rap sheet and had been unwanted by the Wallabies since he went off the rails in 2013.

But Michael Cheika, whose willingness to give players a second chance is one of his most underrated yet most admirable qualities as a coach, took O’Connor for his word and brought him back into the fold.

On Saturday night, thrust into the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the Bledisloe Cup, O’Connor repaid Cheika for the faith he had shown him, setting up a try for Reece Hodge with a magical pass while causing no end of headaches to the New Zealanders.

“I made a lot of mistakes when I was younger and I’ve learnt from it now,” O’Connor said.

“I guess I have a bit of wisdom on ways you can do it better so that people don’t follow what I did and waste five years of their career and their life.”

In a sign of just how much he’s changed, O’Connor celebrated his win by taking an ice bath then heading back to the team hotel for an early night bed.

James O’Connor set up the Wallabies’ first try. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt

That’s a far cry from his younger days when he would have painted the town red but with the prospect of making the World Cup squad, and winning the Bledisloe Cup in New Zealand next weekend, his sole focus is on rugby.

“This is who I am, this is what I’m about. I guess there’s no hiding anymore and everyone’s been supportive about that,” he said.

“My first game against the All Blacks was at Eden Park and I had a shocker, dropped the ball maybe twice, got whacked so there’ll be redemption coming.

“I think that’s the key to success, getting a group of guys from all different walks, different ages who have been through different things and connecting them, make sure we’re all flowing together.”

Originally published as Deprive to revive: How bizarre Icelandic training camp gave JOC new life