Joe Schmidt won’t ‘preclude anyone’ from Wallabies selection as he confirms James O’Connor ‘chat’
James O'Connor in action for the Wallabies with an inset of Joe Schmidt
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt has not closed the door on James O’Connor’s hopes of a Test recall, but insists he would choose Australian-based players in tight selection calls.
O’Connor has been in fine form since heading over the ditch to sign for the Crusaders, and his performances have put him back in the shop window for a surprise recall to the Wallabies squad ahead of the upcoming British and Irish Lions series.
Door not closed on James O’Connor – Schmidt
The former Queensland Reds star burst onto the Test scene back in 2008, and has gone onto win 64 caps at the time of writing. But, he has been in the international wilderness for three years now, with his last appearance coming back in 2022.
Despite the long hiatus, though, Schmidt disclosed he has already had a chat with the back ahead of the Test series in the summer, but also revealed the conundrum he faces.
“I’ve talked to James, we had a really good chat,” Schmidt said. “He’s not currently based in Australia, but that doesn’t preclude him. We don’t want to preclude anyone, we want to be as strong as we can be for a pinnacle event, and I know there will be a lot of commentary about selection, but we will put a lot of effort into getting them right.”
He added: “What we do know is if there are close calls, we will reward the guys who have committed their future to Rugby Australia. It’s not just about the pinnacle event of the British and Irish Lions, but also springboarding into the 2027 World Cup, which is magnified in importance because it’s here in Australia.”
Schmidt has stuck to his guns regarding picking Australian-based players for his Test side, particularly with the high-profile omission of Will Skelton, but O’Connor isn’t too far away in neighbouring New Zealand and still features in Super Rugby Pacific.
“He’s a little bit closer to home (than players in Europe), and to continue to challenge himself, he took the Crusaders’ opportunity because the Reds have a couple of guys on the upswing.”
The Wallabies are also not blessed with experience at fly-half. Carter Gordon, entrusted as the only fly-half at the 2023 World Cup, has switched to the NRL, leaving just Noah Lolesio, Ben Donaldson and Tom Lynagh as the fly-half options.
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Reds ace Lynagh is still in his infancy within the professional game as a whole, while Donaldson and Lolesio are still fairly fresh to the Test scene too, and Schmidt revealed the experience of O’Connor could be invaluable to his young crop.
“James would bring experience back into the group, a little bit of versatility too as he’s played 12 in his career, and with all those players (Lynagh, Donaldson and Lolesio), James would bring that experience, and it’s nice to have an experienced head,” he explained.
“It’s part of the conundrum for us, and we’ll be working hard trying to get the best balance.”
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