ADELAIDE: Crusaders captain David Havili believes a “battle-hardened” James O’Connor is ready to make a difference in the Wallabies environment, with the playmaker earning an incredible recall into the national squad for the Test series against the British & Irish Lions.
O’Connor hasn’t played a Test match since 2022, when coach Dave Rennie named the Wallaby in the run-on side at fly-half for a Rugby Championship clash in Argentina. Australia lost badly that day, and ‘JOC’ hasn’t played in Wallaby gold since.
Eddie Jones replaced Rennie in the top job ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with young 10s Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson starting matches at the event. Jones now coaches Japan, and current coach Joe Schmidt has gone in another direction at fly-half.
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Noah Lolesio was overlooked by Jones but the 25-year-old has started every Test except for one during Schmidt’s time in charge, including last weekend’s clash with Fiji in Newcastle. Lolesio suffered an unfortunate injury in that Test, ruling him out of the Lions Series.
Wallabies selectors have called O’Connor into the squad to replace Lolesio. O’Connor helped the Crusaders take out the title this year as a reliable option off the bench, and Havili has backed the Leicester-bound 10 to make a difference within the Wallabies squad.
“He’s battle-hardened. He’s test-ready,” Havili told reporters on Saturday.
“What he’ll do for those young 10s in there will just give them confidence to go in there and be themselves. That’s what he did with our young Crusader 10s Rivez [Reihana] and Taha [Kemara], just helped them set up the week and gave them confidence to go out and be themselves.
“He’ll do that in that environment.
“He was world-class in what he did,” he added later. “Coming off the bench and finishing games and that’s what we needed for him and he’s done that.
“I’m really stoked for what he’s been able to do and hopefully he goes well in the gold.”
Havili started at inside centre for the AUNZ Invitational XV on Saturday evening, co-captaining the side who were beaten comprehensively by the Lions 48-nil. Duhan van der Merwe scored a hat-trick as the touring side ran away with their most dominant victory yet.
There were plenty of reasons to cheer if you’re a fan of the team wearing red, with some chants of “Lions, Lions, Lions” echoing throughout Adelaide Oval on more than one occasion, but perhaps the loudest reaction from fans came during the second half.
Standing on the sidelines ready to come on was replacement Owen Farrell, the son of coach Andy Farrell, who had been called into the Lions as a replacement for the injured Elliot Daly – this being Owen’s fourth tour with the prestigious side.
Some fans have been critical of Farrell’s inclusion in the squad, considering the out-half hasn’t played a Test since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but the Englishman had some good involvements against the AUNZ XV.
Much like the inclusion of O’Connor in the Wallabies squad, it’s the runs on the board that make Farrell’s selection so potentially crucial for the Lions.
“You can’t beat experience, right? Owen Farrell’s won so many competitions and been on numerous Lions Tours and you just can’t beat experience,” Havili explained.
“It’s good to see Owen back out there and back in that jersey and prove a point tonight around he deserves to be there.”
