James O’Connor admits Crusaders boss wanted typical Australian ‘complaining’ to contrast humble New Zealand approach
Crusaders head coach Rob Penney and Australian fly-half James O'Connor.
James O’Connor has claimed that Crusaders head coach Rob Penney wants him to “complain” in training after telling a funny story about his start at the New Zealand franchise.
The playmaker, who has earned 64 Wallabies caps, made the surprise move to the 12-time Super Rugby champions ahead of the 2025 campaign.
O’Connor has settled in nicely, making two appearances off the bench so far, and the 34-year-old has been impressed by what he has seen.
Testing out the fitness
That includes training where his team-mates did not whinge when being told to do some extra fitness work by Penney in pre-season.
“Aussies, we complain a fair bit, just a little bit, but the funny thing is that’s what Rob wanted from me,” he told the GBRANZ podcast.
“The first day we do a bronco and then he makes up – I knew he was making it up because I was on the side watching – and he said: ‘A couple of people didn’t hit the line’.
“He then goes, ‘okay, we’re going to do another half-bronco’. All the boys just put their head down and go, ‘let’s get to it’. I would have been like, ‘who the f*** was it?’ But they just got on with it and I was blown away.”
That mentality evidently pays off for the New Zealand sides as O’Connor explained another difference between the two countries.
“The other big thing is the speed of ruck ball at training. My first two weeks I was blowing thinking, ‘this is quick’,” he said.
“I understand the game and know where I need to be when I need to take off, but I was a metre or two behind the play consistently, so I had to really tweak how I was doing it.
“Then we get to game time and it was back to three-second rucks, so I’m all good.”
Crusaders move
O’Connor’s switch to the Crusaders caught many people off-guard and also attracted some criticism from those who felt that he could hamper the development of young New Zealand fly-halves.
The Australian admits that he did have offers to go to Europe or the USA, but stated that it “just felt right” signing with the Christchurch-based outfit.
“I could have gone overseas, I had a couple of deals to go back to France or to the US, and I was very close to doing them,” he said.
“Even with the Reds as well, I had a plus one option with the Reds which I decided not to take. And then this sort of came in at the eleventh hour.
“It happened within probably a week. As soon as I spoke to Rob, we connected really quickly.
“A week later, I was over in New Zealand with my brothers in an RV doing a road-trip. When I get a call from my manager, ‘yeah, go down and meet him’.
“I’m an hour away so I jumped in the RV, pulled up, went to Rugby Park and we had communication, and it just felt right.”
