James O'Connor to play for London Irish

stefan idiot jones

Hot off the press.

Just heard on the radio here in Brisbane that O'Conner is to play in London.

Australian Rugby have finally washed their hands of him.

Hagz

Wow! Huge coup for them. I hope it goes well for him. It's terrible to see his incredible talent squandered.

P_1

Bad news for iHumph though...

Hagz

Yeh I'd imagine O'Connor is looking to play 10. He should really go back to the wing though. In my opinion his best position is left wing, then inside centre.

Kristopherus

He won't be long there if he starts acting the prat again.

errlloyd

I heard this being discussed this morning (Irish time).

LI have a self imposed booze ban in place at the club that apparently makes them an excellent places for Australian /Welsh players facing fame and discipline rugby players to go.

desertcircus

I was thinking about this; it's good to see that there is a club that, for want of a better word, specialises in providing a supportive environment for players who have issues like O'Connor's.

Swiwi.

Hagz wrote: »

Yeh I'd imagine O'Connor is looking to play 10. He should really go back to the wing though. In my opinion his best position is left wing, then inside centre.

I doubt it. His future is not at 10, and he knows it. I'd like to see him specialise at 12, but he's also a decent winger.

Tox56

Swiwi. wrote: »

I doubt it. His future is not at 10, and he knows it. I'd like to see him specialise at 12, but he's also a decent winger.

Eamonn Sheridan is the resident 12 at LI, so anywhere but there please

Howard Juneau

Tox56 wrote: »

Eamonn Sheridan is the resident 12 at LI, so anywhere but there please

Sheridan to Munster next season

Tox56

Howard Juneau wrote: »

Sheridan to Munster next season

No, he gets more experience playing alongside the likes of JOC for 1 more season before coming back home to replace D'Arcy

I actually think if he comes back to Ireland and shows form Schmidt won't hesitate to involve him with the national team, at Leinster he always seemed to be a massive fan of Sheridan despite his injury troubles

CatFromHue

He might get a surprise when he shows up at London Irish, aren't they not actually in London anymore?

Podge_irl

CatFromHue wrote: »

He might get a surprise when he shows up at London Irish, aren't they not actually in London anymore?

Indeed. The Not Nots are neither in London nor Irish. They're based on Reading.

case885

Podge_irl wrote: »

Indeed. The Not Nots are neither in London nor Irish. They're based on Reading.

Training ground is in sunbury though only about 15 miles from london.

19543261

Wonder if he'll end up over at any point. What age is he now?

CorsendonkX

19543261 wrote: »

Wonder if he'll end up over at any point. What age is he now?

Only 23, his problem does't just seem to be booze but his naturally ability to be a ringleader for trouble. In the past he was cunning enough to slink off while one of his party buddies took the fall. He claims he wants to play in the 2015 RWC so that doesn't give him long in Europe.

ciarriaithuaidh

Podge_irl wrote: »

Indeed. The Not Nots are neither in London nor Irish. They're based on Reading.

I love how LI seem to get abuse for playing in Reading (which was a move out of necessity..and as stated their base is in Sunbury near Twickenham) and the same people seem to ignore the fact that Wasps play in High Wycombe.

There are still strong Irish links in the club, both in the staff and in the committees working in the background.

who the fug

And it be confirmed, interesting

CatFromHue

He has signed until the end of the season too.

who the fug

CatFromHue wrote: »

He has signed until the end of the season too.

Amused how quickly they were pushing the season tickets after the announcement

CatFromHue

Crikey just saw the LI jersey

It's awful!

Emperor1989

Hopefully he turns it around. A huge talent and fantastic player.

Pity he doesn't have the best friends.

CatFromHue

I remember listening to Off The Ball when they'd Richie Sadlier on one night.

He was saying that at Millwall, or at some stage in his career, a sports psychologist had been brought in to talk to the players.

One of the things the psychologist did was ask the players what success was for them and how would they achieve it.

Sadlier then started talking about a few years later talking to some of the players and what success was for them. The results were really varied. Some just wanted money, nothing else, if they played for 12 clubs in 12 different seasons it didn't matter as long as they got good signing on fees and wages. Others wanted to play for their national team, others wanted to just win trophies, and others just wanted to be respected by their peers.

JOC sitting and talking to a sports psychologist might help him focus but equally he's 23 and has been playing Super rugby and for the Wallabies consistently since 2009, he played 13 games for them that season. That's mental when you think about it for a guy his age.

Howard Juneau

I didn't catch the interview on sky, but it seems that maybe O'Connor was badly advised?
He admits that he only found out after signing for LI that he rules him out of playing for Aus until 2015..

Buer

Howard Juneau wrote: »

I didn't catch the interview on sky, but it seems that maybe O'Connor was badly advised?
He admits that he only found out after signing for LI that he rules him out of playing for Aus until 2015..

How can a professional rugby player not know one of the most well known selection criteria for his country?

That would be akin to an Irish player not knowing that there are 5 NIQ players allowed at a province.

Howard Juneau

Buer wrote: »

How can a professional rugby player not know one of the most well known selection criteria for his country?

That would be akin to an Irish player not knowing that there are 5 NIQ players allowed at a province.

Who knows? He's 23, has had a troubledb last few years, it most probably didn't even occur to him.
That's why I'm surprised his advisors didn't stress that to him.

razorblunt

ciarriaithuaidh wrote: »

I love how LI seem to get abuse for playing in Reading (which was a move out of necessity..and as stated their base is in Sunbury near Twickenham) and the same people seem to ignore the fact that Wasps play in High Wycombe.

There are still strong Irish links in the club, both in the staff and in the committees working in the background.

I think it's all tongue in cheek.
Mind you their tv show on Channel 4 is awful ;-)

I suspect him being sacked and told to **** off by the ARU would make it more difficult for him to play for Aus as an 'Exile' than most...

bilston

ciarriaithuaidh wrote: »

I love how LI seem to get abuse for playing in Reading (which was a move out of necessity..and as stated their base is in Sunbury near Twickenham) and the same people seem to ignore the fact that Wasps play in High Wycombe.

There are still strong Irish links in the club, both in the staff and in the committees working in the background.

The reason Wasps don't get grief is because people in Ireland don't care about them. We do have some vested interest in the affairs of London Irish because of the historical link so obviously people are bound to have opinions about them.

For what it's worth I think they've brought in a few more Irish players recently and in fact I understand they made a big effort to sign Chris Henry before he re-committed to Ulster, but that's just a rumour.

pickarooney

Howard Juneau wrote: »

I didn't catch the interview on sky, but it seems that maybe O'Connor was badly advised?
He admits that he only found out after signing for LI that he rules him out of playing for Aus until 2015..

If he ends the season in May 2014 can he not then sign for an Aussie side (super XV or whatever the feeder league is) before the end of the year?

It's a moot point though; Australia don't want him back any time soon.

CatFromHue

Buer wrote: »

How can a professional rugby player not know one of the most well known selection criteria for his country?

That would be akin to an Irish player not knowing that there are 5 NIQ players allowed at a province.

Nacewa had similar selection problems when he was the same age.

I'd say it's quite common actually. For example when I played under age rugby I just showed up and played with my mates, I never asked or knew when the age cut off date was. I didn't particularly care either.

Kiwi_knock

Interesting that London Irish list him as a Centre/Fullback on their website in the article welcoming him to the club. I wonder is it an indication of where he will be played over the coming season. Me and many others really want to see him at 12, and it possibly is his best chance of getting back into the Aussie team in that position.

Glass Prison 1214

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Interesting that London Irish list him as a Centre/Fullback on their website in the article welcoming him to the club. I wonder is it an indication of where he will be played over the coming season. Me and many others really want to see him at 12, and it possibly is his best chance of getting back into the Aussie team in that position.

London Irish's best player this season, winning player of the month last month is Eammon Sheriden who plays 12. So given JOC's versatility I would say its unlikely he will play 12. Best use of resources would probably be putting him in the back 3.

who the fug

full back as we are missing Tom Homer

Swiwi.

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Interesting that London Irish list him as a Centre/Fullback on their website in the article welcoming him to the club. I wonder is it an indication of where he will be played over the coming season. Me and many others really want to see him at 12, and it possibly is his best chance of getting back into the Aussie team in that position.

If Australia are serious about RWC 2015, they have to find a way to get Matt Giteau bacl into the mix. But I'm in your camp, love to see JOC at 12.

shaungil

Brave move and of course now Mike Philips is available. Surely Danny cipriani is due a move soon. Get in Andy Powell and a few of JOC Aussie buddies we've got a great reality TV show.
:eek:

mfceiling

Could be the making of him. Shame to see a great talent p*ss it against a wall.

RoundBox11

What is it that he was getting up to exactly?

Apart from being drunk at the airport and going on nights out.

To be fair to the guy he's 23. If he wasn't a professional athlete he'd probably be doing the same like a lot of young people

thomond2006

He missed the team bus for one of the Lions test after being out the night before.

Howard Juneau

thomond2006 wrote: »

He missed the team bus for one of the Lions test after being out the night before.

Reminds me of Roy Keane and Charlton when he missed a bus

CatFromHue

thomond2006 wrote: »

He missed the team bus for one of the Lions test after being out the night before.

Did he?

I thought he missed the bus for training a week or so before the first test i.e. at a non critical time

Was pictured out in Hungry Jacks at 4am after the Rebels Lions game (between the 2nd and 3rd test I think)

Then was escorted out of Perth airport for being drunk (not pissed) and arguing with airline staff over his seats, this was after the end of the 4 Nations. A couple of hours he later he came back and got on a different flight with the same airline.

CorsendonkX

RoundBox11 wrote: »

What is it that he was getting up to exactly?

Apart from being drunk at the airport and going on nights out.

To be fair to the guy he's 23. If he wasn't a professional athlete he'd probably be doing the same like a lot of young people

Quite a lot of drunken nights out over the last two years.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/with-amigos-like-these--20130816-2s24k.html

Buer

CatFromHue wrote: »

Did he?

I thought he missed the bus for training a week or so before the first test i.e. at a non critical time

Yup. It was in the build up to the final test and was the bus from the team hotel to training.

former legend

Not sure if this was reported on any other thread, but James O'Connor met Mourad Boujdellal at the cafe in RC Toulon yesterday, according to Var-Matin newspaper, apparently with a view to moving there next season.

I hadn't realised JOC was only contracted with LI until the end of the season.

dregin

I know it's highlights, so may have skipped some rusty spots, but this looks like a decent start from the lad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm4zN2i7B-4