Why Joe Schmidt went behind enemy lines before picking James O’Connor, former All Blacks’ coach backs in the Wallabies
James O’Connor is back in the Wallabies’ squad, for the British and Irish Lions’ series no less, but Joe Schmidt first went behind enemy lines to find out how he had evolved.
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Ask anyone who’s had anything to do with James O’Connor, and they’ll all tell you the same thing: he was made for the big stage.
In fact the only surprise about him being picked in the Australian squad to face the British & Irish Lions is that it’s considered a surprise.
Those that know the reformed ex-wild child well, all vouch for his ability and composure under pressure, which is why Joe Schmidt sounded them out on the quiet.
One of the men Schmidt asked about O’Connor was David Havili, the New Zealander who co-captained the AUNZ Invitational side against the Lions at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Havill is also the skipper of the Crusaders, who won this year’s Super Rugby title, with O’Connor in the squad. Although he was mostly used off the bench, O’Connor also served as a mentor to the team’s younger playmakers and Havili said his contribution was immeasurable.
“He’s battle-hard, he’s Test-ready, and what he’ll do for those young 10s … he will just give them confidence to go out there and beat themselves,” Havili said.
“You can’t beat experience, right?”
Havili said that he had no hesitation recommending O’Connor when Crusaders coach Rob Penney asked him in 2024 whether he still had it.
“I said 100%, someone with his experience to be able to come in and just add to the group where he can, and he did.
“He was able to come off the bench and finish games, and that’s what we needed from him and he did that. I’m really stoked for what he’s been able to do, and hopefully he goes well in the gold.”
Les Kiss, the current Queensland coach who will take over the Wallabies when Joe Schmidt stands down next year, is another admirer of O’Connor.
He told him two years, when he was considering going overseas, that if he wanted to ever play for the Wallabies again he needed to be involved in Super Rugby.
“I meant he should stay with us,” Kiss joked.
“But there’s no grudges at all. He deserved to make a decision like that and go for something like that, and he’s proven that he’s still got it.
“I can’t speak highly enough about what he can do for a team and what he did for us, and he left us on good terms, and I’m really chuffed for him that he got this opportunity.”
Kiss was also full of praise for Tane Edmed, who lost out to O’Connor for the five-eighth role vacated by the injury to Noah Lolesio, and lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, who also missed selection.
Both had big games for the combined Australia-New Zealand team that was beaten by the Lions in Adelaide and Kiss said they could both step up to the Wallabies at any time if needed.
“The measure of a man is when they’re disappointed is how they carry the disappointment,” Kiss said.
“The guys that didn’t get the (Wallabies) jersey, they worked hard for us all week to help us try and get there where we wanted to.
“There’s other guys who probably didn’t get a call that they thought they may have. No one turned, they just stayed on and stayed strong for the group, which is class.”
Assistant coach Ian Foster said he expected Schmidt would have taken note of the performances by Edmed and Salakaia-Loto and even though they missed selection for the first Test, they could be involved later on.
“Joe will pay attention to everything. I know Joe. He’s picked his squad and he’ll have reasons for that,” said Foster.
“But you’ve got to remember there’s three Tests and there’ll be a few more twists and turns. you never quite know who’s going to pop up in the second or third Test.”
On O’Connor, Foster said he understood why Schmidt picked him.
“Having that older head will certainly be good,” he said.
“But I thought one of our best players was Tane … so I think he’s got a good option there too, but I can understand the rationale of having that older head in there.”
Former All Blacks mentor backs in Wallabies
– Julian Linden
The former All Blacks coach Ian Foster is a rare New Zealander.
He actually believes the Wallabies can beat the British & Irish Lions.
Just why he has so much faith in the men in gold is hard to fathom, especially after he served as an assistant coach in the combined Aussie-Kiwi team that got hammered 48-0 by the Lions.
But rather than be dismayed by the result, Foster was upbeat, because he also has some inside knowledge that few other coaches have.
He’s been at the coal face against the Lions before, in the epic 2017 series that ended in a draw, when he was Steve Hanson’s right hand man at the All Blacks.
The jury is still out on how good the 2025 Lions are. Although they have won their five warm up matches in Australia, Foster says the start of the Tests changes things quickly.
“I think they’ve got a lot of work to do for next week,” he said.
“They’re a quality team, with good depth, but that brings complications sometimes at selection time.
“I think the Test of the tour is how they deal with selection in the next week and keep the rest of the squad happy.”
The other thing in Australia’s favour, according to Foster, is the Wallabies’ coach Joe Schmidt. He’s also a Kiwi and was Foster’s assistant with the All Blacks’ side that made the 2023 World Cup final.
Schmidt doesn’t say much publicly but he’s a master motivator and tactician behind closed doors and will have hatched a scheme to catch the Lions napping.
“He’ll bring a lot of belief,” Foster said.
“The Wallabies team will believe in what they want to and that’s his biggest strength. So they’ll have a plan.”
Despite scoring a last-minute try to scrape out a narrow victory, the Wallabies played poorly in their only warm up match against Fiji last week but Foster said they’ll be a different team when they face the Lions.
“There’s something about the Wallabies I just think that if they can be tough enough at the ball carry to be able to get some front foot ball against the Lions team they’ll be a challenge,” he said.
“Joe’s now had a good time in the Wallabies. I think he’s got a different challenge here, they’re going to be clear underdogs, aren’t they?
“And they’re going to have to play at their best, but I do know that he’s high on building belief in his group and that’s going to be one of the key assets.”
Foster thinks Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii can be the difference between the sides.
The Lions clearly have a well-organised defence, holding the Western Force, Queensland Reds and AU Invitational side scoreless in each of their second halves, but haven’t been tested in the air.
That’s one of the strengths of the athletic Suaalii. If the Wallabies can’t punch holes through the Lions, look for them to kick over the top of them.
“I think that’ll be a part of it,” Foster said. “I’m pretty sure they’ll be primed in that space.”
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Originally published as Why Joe Schmidt went behind enemy lines before picking James O’Connor, former All Blacks’ coach backs in the Wallabies
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