James O’Connor: The worst of the three Amigos.
Drew Mitchell doesn’t mind admitting he didn’t jump for joy when told James O’Connor would be joining him in the south of France.
When O’Connor signed on for Toulon in February, the former Wallaby wing thought only of the brash youngster he’d known in Australian rugby, and the poor form and controversy behind his exit.
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“Certainly back in the days when he had a turbulent time in Australia I was someone who, I guess, was hypercritical of him,” Mitchell said
“I always made sure he knew my opinion as well as me commenting publicly or whatever. He always knew where I stood.
“If I was to be honest, I had reservations about him coming to Toulon.
“Even after his stint with London Irish, the memories I had were of what happened with the ARU and the Rebels.”
It is almost a year since O’Connor was axed from the Wallabies following an airport fracas in Perth. It was the last straw in a haystack of bad behaviour that saw the one-time golden boy lose the trust of the ARU, the public and most tellingly, his teammates.
Told he wouldn’t be contracted by the ARU in 2014, O’Connor moved overseas to England, and then France, in an attempt to see the world and grow up, before returning to have a crack at selection for the 2015 World Cup.
Last week Queensland announced with great fanfare O’Connor would be back next year, wearing red and aiming again for gold.
But the question on everyone’s lips is this: has O’Connor actually grown up? Has a year in exile changed a thing?
According to Mitchell, the answer is a firm yes. After a few short months of daily observation, the critic has become a convert.
“Since coming here, I have honestly been really impressed with the guy,” Mitchell says.
“He’s applying himself in training, in the gym and on the field. He’s getting to know the boys, he’s getting to know the French guys and trying to learn the language.
“He obviously came here with the intentions of going back to Australia but he still came and dived into the culture, and the team environment. It would have been easy for him to say I’m here for six months and speak English and stay comfortable.
“He’s getting lessons outside of the ones provided by the club, and so on.
“I honestly have been really impressed. We spend a fair bit of time together here as well, which is something I didn’t think I’d do before he came.”
The downfall of O’Connor appeared sudden but had been building for seasons. Too much, too soon seemed to be basic issue for an extremely talented kid who debuted for Australia as a teenager, and with the world at his feet, found it hard to stay grounded.
His exceptional playing ability and marketability meant a succession of slip-ups off-field weren’t appropriately dealt with by his employers, which blurred boundaries for O’Connor and alienated other players. “Empty rhetoric” about changing didn’t help either, Stephen Moore said later, and suddenly the lid popped off a well-shaken bottle.
“I have not left my country on the best of terms,” O’Connor said in a recent interview in France.
“My behaviour has perhaps not always been consistent with what you would expect from a guy like me. But after school, at the age of 18, I’ve only known rugby. I was not ready for all that. But now I’ve become more mature. I’ve mellowed.”
Coach Brian Smith praised O’Connor for not putting a foot wrong at London Irish, and in the company of two tell-it-straight Aussies Mitchell and Matt Giteau at a club of huge names in France, the maturation has apparently continued.
“It’s not just myself and Matt, there are plenty of senior players from plenty of different countries. They’ve all seen young guys come through and make poor decisions, but also seen them turn themselves around,” Mitchell says.
“I am not the same bloke I was when I was 23. I made poor decisions as well. I’d hate to be judged on that guy for ever, compared to where I am at now.”
We live in a small digital world, however, and when O’Connor was bagged at home for a video of him backflipping into a pool while seemingly promoting a beach party, the criticism was noticed in Toulon.
Mitchell raises it: “It was a charity rugby day … he had good intentions, maybe the execution wasn’t so great but he’s learning along the way. But you’d prefer him slipping up on a poorly executed charity advertisement than going out and doing something we were critical of him doing previously.”
For a time, there will be those who will remain sceptical about O’Connor, and their case is fuelled by secrecy surrounding his Reds contract.
The QRU announced a two-year deal, but Toulon say O’Connor has a three-year deal with them that only allows him to return to Australia for one of them.
Despite transparency surely being even more important than ever with O’Connor, QRU boss Jim Carmichael attempted to “clarify” the situation this week without offering a shred of clarity, saying only it was a deal in the “best interests” of the Reds, the player and Australian rugby.
While the Reds believe he’ll stay for two seasons but don’t want to imperil a relationship with Toulon by publicly squabbling, it is believed O’Connor has the option to go back to France next year if things don’t work in 2015.
Things should work out. Australia are battling for quality wingers and there is absolutely no argument O’Connor is world class; his 2011 World Cup was superb.
Mitchell, for one, believes O’Connor will re-take Australia by storm next year – in a good way, this time.
“He’s a really good signing for not only the Reds but the Australian rugby union,” he explains.
“His game is probably at a higher level than what it was when he left. I just hope everyone lets him get out there and play, and judge that side of things, albeit while he’s doing the right things off the field as well.
“I genuinely feel he has learned from his experiences, which he hadn’t done previously. He has come through and is now putting it into action. I think he’s grown up a fair bit.”