Exiled star James O’Connor takes first step on path to Aussie rebirth
Enigmatic Australian rugby star James O’Connor is emerging as the unlikeliest hero in a doomed World Cup campaign, but the playmaker is making key moves to revive his Wallabies career.
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The image of James O’Connor is stuck in a stained time warp and only fresh results can truly reinvent him for a stunning rebirth as a Wallaby.
That possibility is rushing at us because O’Connor was on Wednesday a smiling, speedy invitee at the camp for Wallabies’ hopefuls at Wests rugby club in Brisbane.
Just watching a back at full pace throwing a slick pass to both sides in a basic Wallabies’ drill was enough to get excited that the latest version of O’Connor may be worth backing.
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On that basis, “Late Night James”, “Where’s James?”, “Brand O’Connor”, “Hungry Jacks James”, “Airport James” and “Nightclub James” are all obsolete tags.
His disrespect for teammates and “the team” through most of those misdemeanours was the reason that clubmates turned off an immature kid who thought he could do whatever he liked.
It’s crazy to think it was all over for him as a Wallaby just a month after his 23rd birthday.
Wallabies great and former Toulon teammate Matt Giteau took up the “changed man” cause for O’Connor on the PlayersVoice platform.
“He definitely rubbed some people up the wrong way, and got into some dramas, and for a lot of Australians that’s the last image of him,” Giteau wrote.
“I’ve found he’s matured a lot as a person and a player. He now understands how much he enjoyed playing for Australia and how much he has missed it.
“It would be a waste if he didn’t get another opportunity.”
A few things to get straight.
O’Connor is in this for the right reasons because he’s given up a bigger deal in England to pursue this dream in Australia.
One O’Connor friend said he’d taken ownership of his stuff-ups so remorse is a positive.
He needs to let his rugby do the talking from here and the trust of fans will return.
At 28, his best may still be ahead because he was a shining light in 18 games for Sale this season.
He won’t be parachuted into the 31 or 32-man Wallabies squad flying out on Sunday for the July 20 Test against South Africa in Johannesburg and he’ll play club rugby first.
O’Connor was fined for using cocaine in 2017 when arrested on a night out in Paris and that would seem a “STOP” sign for Reds coach Brad Thorn.
James Slipper and Karmichael Hunt were punted from a young, impressionable Reds squad last year for their links with the drug.
Only if Thorn has a reform-elsewhere-and-you’re-sweet policy can he be consistent and work with O’Connor. Stay tuned