Springboks great: Sharks need to ‘change their approach’ as James O’Connor is not a ‘solution’
Wallabies fly-half James O'Connor and an inset of Springboks great Jean de Villiers.
James O’Connor won’t solve the Sharks’ issues on attack, according to three former Springboks who reacted to reports of the Durbanites opening talks with the Wallabies veteran.
The 35-year-old will leave Leicester Tigers at the end of the 2025/26 season after signing a one-year deal, replacing Handre Pollard at the PREM Rugby club.
This has caused plenty of speculation around where he will land next, with reports in Australia stating that he has expressed an interest in a return Down Under.
Meanwhile, Rapport states that he has caught the attention of JP Pietersen, who is looking to recruit an experienced playmaker of international quality to help develop the younger fly-halves in the Sharks‘ squad.
Will James O’Connor make a difference at the Sharks?
Former Springboks captain Jean de Villiers has now commented on the rumour and says that O’Connor will certainly have an impact in Durban, but believes that Pietersen would be better off focusing on a long-term project instead.
“Will he make a difference? I’ve got no doubt that he will make a difference if he goes there,” the former centre said on the Boks’ Unpacked podcast.
“Is that the solution, though? I don’t think that’s the solution. I don’t think that’s the approach that the Shark should have. They should look at giving the youngsters more of a go in that position, because he’s just going to come in there for one season, then leave again.
“You need a longer-term approach and view for whoever you get in. It’s about developing youngsters, getting your systems right, all of that, rather than plugging the holes because they’ve been doing that for too long and it hasn’t worked for them. They totally need to change that approach.”
Ex-Stormers and Springboks hooker Hanyani Shimange agrees with De Villiers, pointing to highly-rated youngster Vusi Moyo, who is currently representing South Africa’s u20s. He adds that the Sharks need to focus on their attacking identity and structures first.
“Is it that they need that identity, and how they want to play? We’ve mentioned this before, but they’ve got this Moyo kid, he’s a good youngster,” Shimange said.
“Jordan Hendrikse and Siya Masuku are there. They had Boeta Chamberlain and Curwin Bosch. They’ve had a couple of fly-halves. James O’Connor is obviously a quality player; he’s experienced, but I think there are other things they need to fix before getting him in the mix.”
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Lack of selection consistency
De Villiers and former Springboks flanker Schalk Burger added that so many promising players have struggled to perform in the Sharks’ number 10 jumper with the former ruing the lack of selection consistency in the role.
“All those names that you’ve mentioned, let’s call it in the last 10 years, and adding to it Lionel Cronje and Manie Libbok, there are a lot of fly-halves who went through that program and couldn’t settle,” De Villiers said.
“A lot of those players had one or two seasons and then were gone. It’s better to take a longer-term approach and say this is the way that we want to play at the Sharks, these are the kind of players that we need to be able to deliver and execute on the way that we want to play, and then say, well, this is the kind of fly-half that we need for that.
“There are too many variables and too many constant changes within that environment that you just can’t settle on one guy.”
Schalk Burger’s verdict
Burger agreed with his former Springboks teammates, saying: “First and foremost, the Sharks, I think, there’s a lot of detail and change that’s got to come within the attacking shape.
“James O’Connor is a decent player. I don’t know at this stage in his career where he’s really such a big attacking threat, and if you look at all the best attacking sides across Europe and in South Africa and the URC for that matter, it’s the number 10 who is the attacking threat. They’ve got to go to the line.
“You look at Sacha, what he can do on attack, and then Bordeaux, the way they play with Jalibert, and that’s the type of style of player you need. But like every single player that the Sharks have had over the past few years, whether he’s got attacking abilities, they end up playing deep and sitting in the pocket, and there are 10 of them that have done exactly the same. ”
