Michael O'Connor (Rugby player)
Encyclopedia
Michael David O'Connor is a former rugby league
and rugby union
footballer who represented Australia in both codes, in other words a dual-code rugby international. He played for the Wallabies
in 13 Tests from 1979 to 1982 and then the Kangaroos in 17 Tests from 1985 to 1990. O'Connor played club football in the NSWRL Premiership for the St. George Dragons
and later the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
, becoming captain of the latter and winning the 1987 Winfield Cup with them.
. His club rugby career was with the Canberra Royals
, then Teachers Brisbane
.
He was first selected for the Wallabies
in 1979, a few months ahead of Mark Ella
and other of O'Connor's prodigiously talented teammates from the 1977 Australian Schoolboys side such as Tony Melrose
, Michael Hawker and Glen and Gary Ella. With a number of those players he was a young starter in the 1980 Wallaby side which won
the Bledisloe Cup
in Sydney in the 3rd and deciding game that year. O'Connor scored a try in this game marking his ascendancy in representative rugby and coinciding with a re-birth of Australian rugby and the beginning of a golden period through to the Grand Slam
achievement of 1984
.
He made 13 Wallaby appearances at Centre up till the July 1982 Test against Scotland.
debut for New South Wales two years later in 1985. Heavy rain confronted the players at Lang Park when the teams took the field for the opening match of the series, and it was thought players new to Origin football such as Michael O'Connor might struggle to cope with the conditions. However the former Wallaby displayed nerves of steel to complete one of Origin's most memorable debuts scoring two tries and kicking five goals to finish with all 18 of the Blue's points.
His international rugby league debut in the 1st Test against New Zealand in Auckland in July 1986 saw him become Australia's 37th dual code rugby international following Ray Price and preceding Ricky Stuart
. Many of his international rugby league appearances were as a winger, such was the depth of the three-quarter talent available to the Australian selectors during his era.
Following the 1987 grand final victory he travelled with the champion Manly side to England for the 1987 World Club Challenge
against their champions, Wigan
.
O'Connor scored tries in all three matches of the 1988 State of Origin series. He also represented St. Helens in a short spell in England during 1989, but his performances were largely disappointing, culminating in the side's humiliating 27–0 defeat at Wembley against arch rivals, Wigan. O'Connor's specially arranged return for that match, given his unimpressive performances for the side was controversial – he took Dave Tanner's place who had played in the famous 16–14 victory over Widnes [ref 1]. Saints coach, Alex Murphy
tried O'Connor at fullback on occasion without success. He primarily played in his preferred centre position after that. O'Connor took on the Sea Eagles' captaincy after Paul Vautin
moved to the Eastern Suburbs Roosters in 1990.
He is remembered in State of Origin folklore for a sideline conversion in teeming rain after the final siren to win the 2nd game of the 1991 series.
At the end of 1992 Winfield Cup season, still on top and producing his best as captain of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
, O'Connor announced his retirement. O'Connor was rated the 50th best Australian rugby league player of all time in a Rugby League Week
Special in 1992.
and then the Australian Rugby Union
. He was the ARU's Talent Identification Coordinator for a number of years. In 2006 O'Connor was appointed as a Wallaby Selector filling the independent role on the selection panel, along with Head Coach John Connolly
and Attack Coach Scott Johnson
. He is currently the Head Coach for the Australian Rugby Sevens Team.
1. http://www.saints.org.uk/saints.org.uk/home/viewpage.php?page_id=7
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
and rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer who represented Australia in both codes, in other words a dual-code rugby international. He played for the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
in 13 Tests from 1979 to 1982 and then the Kangaroos in 17 Tests from 1985 to 1990. O'Connor played club football in the NSWRL Premiership for the St. George Dragons
St. George Dragons
The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,...
and later the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
, becoming captain of the latter and winning the 1987 Winfield Cup with them.
Rugby union
O'Connor was superb centre who possessed an array of natural talents and established a host of point scoring records at Test level. Originally from Canberra he toured with the Australian Rugby Union Schoolboys in 1977 alongside the likes of the Ella brothers and Wally LewisWally Lewis
Walter James "Wally" Lewis AM is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. Currently a commentator of the sport, he is widely regarded as the greatest rugby league player of all time...
. His club rugby career was with the Canberra Royals
Canberra Royals
The Canberra Royals Rugby Football Club is an Australian rugby union club, based in Canberra.-Club history:Canberra Royals has a proud tradition and identifies closely with the Royals Foundation Team of 1949...
, then Teachers Brisbane
Norths/QUT
Norths/QUT is a Brisbane rugby union club based in Brisbane, Queensland. They currently compete in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition.The club's players were available for selection to the Australian Rugby Championship franchise Ballymore Tornadoes during that competition's short-lived...
.
He was first selected for the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
in 1979, a few months ahead of Mark Ella
Mark Ella
Mark Gordon Ella is an Indigenous Australian former rugby union player, often considered as one of his country's all-time greats in that sport. In a relatively short career , Mark Ella established himself as one of the all-time greats in world rugby union...
and other of O'Connor's prodigiously talented teammates from the 1977 Australian Schoolboys side such as Tony Melrose
Tony Melrose
Tony Melrose is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. He played in the NSWRL Premiership for Parramatta, South Sydney, Manly-Warringah and Eastern Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby League competition. He primarily played in the centres or at...
, Michael Hawker and Glen and Gary Ella. With a number of those players he was a young starter in the 1980 Wallaby side which won
the Bledisloe Cup
Bledisloe Cup
Rugby Union's Bledisloe Cup is contested by the Australia national rugby union team and New Zealand national rugby union team. It is named after Lord Bledisloe, the former Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in 1931. The trophy was designed in New Zealand by Nelson Isaac, and...
in Sydney in the 3rd and deciding game that year. O'Connor scored a try in this game marking his ascendancy in representative rugby and coinciding with a re-birth of Australian rugby and the beginning of a golden period through to the Grand Slam
Grand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
achievement of 1984
1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland
The 1984 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland was a series of eighteen matches played by the Australia national rugby union team in Britain and Ireland between 17 October and 15 December 1984...
.
He made 13 Wallaby appearances at Centre up till the July 1982 Test against Scotland.
Rugby league
O'Connor switched to rugby league, signing with New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership side, St George in 1983. He made his State of OriginRugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
debut for New South Wales two years later in 1985. Heavy rain confronted the players at Lang Park when the teams took the field for the opening match of the series, and it was thought players new to Origin football such as Michael O'Connor might struggle to cope with the conditions. However the former Wallaby displayed nerves of steel to complete one of Origin's most memorable debuts scoring two tries and kicking five goals to finish with all 18 of the Blue's points.
His international rugby league debut in the 1st Test against New Zealand in Auckland in July 1986 saw him become Australia's 37th dual code rugby international following Ray Price and preceding Ricky Stuart
Ricky Stuart
Ricky Stuart is an Australian rugby league football coach and former player of the 1980s and 90s. He is currently the head coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team, having replaced Craig Bellamy following a fifth consecutive failure in the 2010 series...
. Many of his international rugby league appearances were as a winger, such was the depth of the three-quarter talent available to the Australian selectors during his era.
Following the 1987 grand final victory he travelled with the champion Manly side to England for the 1987 World Club Challenge
1987 World Club Challenge
The 1987 World Club Challenge was only the second game of its kind to be played between Britain's and Australia's respective domestic rugby league champions...
against their champions, Wigan
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
.
O'Connor scored tries in all three matches of the 1988 State of Origin series. He also represented St. Helens in a short spell in England during 1989, but his performances were largely disappointing, culminating in the side's humiliating 27–0 defeat at Wembley against arch rivals, Wigan. O'Connor's specially arranged return for that match, given his unimpressive performances for the side was controversial – he took Dave Tanner's place who had played in the famous 16–14 victory over Widnes [ref 1]. Saints coach, Alex Murphy
Alex Murphy
Alex Murphy or Alexander Murphy may refer to:* Alex Murphy one of the top basketball recruits in the class of 2012.* Alex Murphy or Alex J. Murphy, the human name of RoboCop...
tried O'Connor at fullback on occasion without success. He primarily played in his preferred centre position after that. O'Connor took on the Sea Eagles' captaincy after Paul Vautin
Paul Vautin
Paul Vautin , is an Australian sports television personality and former rugby league footballer and coach. He currently hosts the NRL Footy Show and provides commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league matches...
moved to the Eastern Suburbs Roosters in 1990.
He is remembered in State of Origin folklore for a sideline conversion in teeming rain after the final siren to win the 2nd game of the 1991 series.
At the end of 1992 Winfield Cup season, still on top and producing his best as captain of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
, O'Connor announced his retirement. O'Connor was rated the 50th best Australian rugby league player of all time in a Rugby League Week
Rugby League Week
Rugby League Week is the second highest selling Australian rugby league magazine, behind major competitor Big League...
Special in 1992.
Post playing
After retirement as a player O'Connor had administrative roles with both the Australian Rugby LeagueAustralian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
and then the Australian Rugby Union
Australian Rugby Union
The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory...
. He was the ARU's Talent Identification Coordinator for a number of years. In 2006 O'Connor was appointed as a Wallaby Selector filling the independent role on the selection panel, along with Head Coach John Connolly
John Connolly (rugby)
John "Knuckles" Connolly is a rugby union coach and the former head coach of the Wallabies. Connolly has in the past worked with the Queensland Reds, Stade Français, Swansea RFC as well as Bath Rugby....
and Attack Coach Scott Johnson
Scott Johnson (rugby coach)
Scott Johnson , is an Australian rugby union coach.-Playing career:Playing as a fly half or a centre, Johnson played for Parramatta Two Blues and Eastwood, and was captain of both the New South Wales Waratahs and Australian Under 21s...
. He is currently the Head Coach for the Australian Rugby Sevens Team.
External links
- Michael O'Connor at playtheball.com
- Michael O'Connor at stateoforigin.com.au
- Michael O'Connor at silvertails.net
1. http://www.saints.org.uk/saints.org.uk/home/viewpage.php?page_id=7