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A surprise contender has emerged for the Wallabies 10 jersey

Isaac Lucas and James O'Connor. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Grinning ear-to-ear after orchestrating Queensland Reds’ record Super Rugby haul, James O’Connor says he’s finally made his mind up about where he wants to play.

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O’Connor admitted he left last year’s World Cup hungry for more ball after playing in the centres and eventually being dropped to the bench for the quarter-final.

Despite that he began his second-coming at the Reds in the No.12 this season, but after just one game was moved to No.10 and hasn’t looked back.

His fingerprints were all over the side’s 64-5 defeat of Japan’s Sunwolves on Saturday in what was O’Connor’s first home game as a Red since unceremoniously leaving the club five years ago.

The win eclipsed the Reds’ biggest points haul and margin of victory, set in a 53-3 win over the Melbourne Rebels in 2011.

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O’Connor relished his role as leading man, with fullback Jock Campbell and Hunter Paisami – a replacement for injured Wallaby Jordan Petaia – blossoming around him.

It again thrust O’Connor, who turns 30 in July, into the frame for the Wallabies’ No.10 jersey alongside Brumbies upstart Noah Lolesio.

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“I spent a lot time playing at the 12 position but I guess after that World Cup I was a little bit, not disappointed, but left me hungry because I wanted to get my hands on the ball a little bit more,” he told Fox Sports.

“It’s just unfolded that way (to play No.10 at the Reds), but I’m not going lie, I am enjoying it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8pMTZhADhT/

“I’m still learning, so go easy on me … but we’re getting there and I’m putting my hand up now for that spot.”

Reds coach Brad Thorn remembers playing for the Crusaders against a 17-year-old O’Connor with the Western Force in 2008.

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“He was on the wing bouncing around; I remember thinking ‘he goes alright’,” Thorn recalled.

“We all know his story, for him to get this opportunity, he values that and he just wants to repay that.

“That maturity at No.10 is a good thing for guys like Isaac (Lucas, who O’Connor has replaced at No.10) to continue to develop.”

– AAP

WATCH: Former All Blacks prop Tim Perry has called time on his career in the most understated way possible.

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Flankly 1 hour ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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