James O'Connor

[madflyhalf]

Hey there!
I've read a lot about him, here and somewhere else in the Internet, and I found a lot of criticsm of his playing, especially in the 3N!
"He's not a wing"
"He doesn't deserve to stay in the squad"
"overrated"[/I]

Well, I really think he's one of the most talented guys in world rugby, but he still have to find his actual position!

But I can't actually see where he's doing wrong!

To me, he's been the 2nd or 3rd best wing of the last 3N (ok, surely not the best winger-edition one! :lol, but he was playing in a brand new position, he scored 4 tries, 3 conversions, I think he also assisted a couple of other tries, Elsom's try against SA started with a superb break by JOC, he defended well, and I think he has always been a thorn in SA side... And his last performance against NZ he ruled NZ wings, along with Lachie Turner!

Maybe his weakest point, where there's some concerns, could be tactical defence, but I think is one of the most difficult things to do at test level, against Carter and Morné Steyn.

And, god, he's still 20!

I really think he should be tried as centre (12) for a couple of matches in November, but he could play 15 as well!

What do you think about this player?

Why so much criticism about him?


Cheers!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I do think he's a good player,
I'll admit that i didn't think he should've been in the squad (well, i said that during the Mid-Year Tests, where he was picked due to his excellent game for the Aussie Barbarians) - but he did well during the AIs.
I think his best position is Fullback, but it'd be good if he could make the transition to wing, as he's behind AAC (who i think is one of the best FBs going) and Kurtley Beale in the pecking order.

 

[Darwin]

He's obviously incredibly talented, but he did have a couple of shockers last year against the AB's (not too surprising given he was only 19...). He seems to have adjusted well to test rugby - I was a bit surprised to see him on the wing, but he did play well during the 3Nations. Personally I'm not sure what his best position is - I do like him at 12 as he has a lot of creative skills, however he does seem to thrive in the space that he gets at fullback. Though wing is probably not his best position, I think that's his best chance of making the Wallabies at the moment, with Beale and AAC the top two fullbacks, and Giteau (and Barnes & Faingaa) at 12.

 

[squirrel]

i would keep him on the wing his passing is abit wild for the centres

 

[Shaggy]

It will be interesting to see where the new coach of the Western Force will play him in the next super comp, with the likes of Shepherd and Staniforth also available

 

[markshaw]

needs more size to be competitive

 

[squirrel]

cant be too much smaller than gits, he needs to pull his socks up though

 

[markshaw]

He'd be sweet playing at 10 or as a non confrontational 12. But in international rugby hes gonna keep getting smoked out wide especially if guys like Fruean are running around out there

 

[Gavin]

i would keep him on the wing his passing is abit wild for the centres

His passing is very good, and your comment is just stupid. Considering he has played both 10 and 12 for the Western Force, his passing must not have been that bad.

needs more size to be competitive

Tell Sergio Parisse that he is too small for test rugby (2mins 43 seconds into the video).

 

[squirrel]

well you didnt see those wild hail marys he was throwing in the tri nations, and this is the same western force that had sam harris and bartholemeuz at fly half last season

 

[markshaw]

cant get on youtube at work but seen that guy play hes good because hes agressive...oconnor isnt??

 

[Gavin]

well you didnt see those wild hail marys he was throwing in the tri nations, and this is the same western force that had sam harris and bartholemeuz at fly half last season

I can't remember any completely bad passes he made in the Tri-Nations, and I did watch all the matches. The reason why Harris and Bartholemeuz were at fly-half was because André Pretorius, who they had signed to replace Matt Giteau, got injured and therefore missed the entire Super14 season.

 

[madflyhalf]

I agree with Gavin! (and I remember very well that try against Parisse!!!)

He is not a big man, he is 88kg (like Jane, and 2 kg more than Berrick Barnes and Giteau), but he is more aggressive and he has a stunning "contact technique" (I think it comes from an high frequency footwork, I think!), look at what he's done against SA in the first match in Brisbane, both attacking and defending!

I'd like to see him at 12, resting Giteau for a while, but pairing with Barnes 10, and not QC!