The original Damian McKenzie: Wallabies set for rollercoaster ride with return of James O'Connor
James O’Connor was the new Damian McKenzie from 2008-13.
The Wallaby was something of a teenaged rugby prodigy. He had pace, he had flair, he had no fear. Plus he was strong, versatile and he could kick goals. His haircut was a bit dodgy and he tended to wear his socks around his ankles. But there was no doubting his talent.
O’Connor played 27 Tests before he hit 21 years of age. At the Force, he wowed the crowds with his brilliance. In his first start for Australia, in 2009 against the Azzurri, he bounced off no less a star than Sergio Parisse to score one of his three tries. A star was born.
We know he rammed a knife through All Blacks hearts in 2010 with the winning try and sideline conversion in Hong Kong.
At times, we thought he was a decent bloke, such as in Rugby World Cup 2011 when he rocked up, unannounced, to his old school in west Auckland to say gidday to his old teachers.
But things got rocky at times for O’Connor. He overslept and missed a 2011 Wallaby photo call, incurring the ire of Wallaby coach Robbie Deans. A switch from the Force to the Melbourne Rebels saw him refer to himself as a “brand” (!). Who was advising the bloke?
By the end of 2013 he had, at just 23, played his 44th and last Test for the Wallabies, or so we all thought. There were stints in France with Toulon and in England with London Irish and latterly Sale Sharks. He did not cover himself with glory off the field.
He’s only just turned 29, can you believe, and yet he finds himself back in the Wallaby fold. While he missed the cut for this weekend’s Rugby Championship opener against the Springboks, one would think he hasn’t turned up just for a haircut, as the Aussies are wont to say. Michael Cheika must feel that he has sorted himself out sufficiently to be worth a look, especially with Israel Folau now off the scene.
Queensland Reds coach Brad Thorn took some convincing that O’Connor was sincere in his belief that he was a reformed character. Only when that was done did he sign a two-year deal with the Reds. Thorn suffers no fools – look how he dealt with Quade Cooper – so this is a big step.
Just where O’Connor will fit into the Wallabies is debatable. He can play anywhere in the backline save halfback, but rule him out as a wing prospect. Men such as Kurtley Beale and Matt Toomua can do a job in the five-eighths or fullback, and yet we hear No 12 is O’Connor’s preferred position. If he can turn back the clock and give us some of his old magic, then the Wallabies are in for a ride over the next three months, including at Rugby World Cup. If he doesn’t, hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
But it might just be compelling, fun viewing over the next few weeks.
Watch – Michael Cheika explains team selection for Springboks test:
Comments on RugbyPass
Anna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
8 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to comments