Henjak sacking has revived O'Young's Wallabies dream
One punch has secured his return to Perth, via Glasgow, Johannesburg and Durban.
And while Matt Henjak considers his rugby future outside code and country following his Western Force sacking, his replacement Chris O'Young is looking forward to staking his claims to Force coach John Mitchell - and to new Wallabies mentor Robbie Deans.
Halfback O'Young is in line to play for the Force against the Lions in Johannesburg on Friday, a week after ending his association with Glasgow Warriors to rejoin his former employer.
That move, which the Force say had been in the pipeline since January, was confirmed when Henjak's latest alcohol-fuelled brain explosion saw him in a fight which broke teammate Haig Sare's jaw on the eve of the Super 14 tour to South Africa, leading to last week's banishment from Australian rugby.
O'Young said from Durban that while the Force was coming to terms with Henjak's departure, he was trying to acclimatise to a new team, new rules and temperatures in stark contrast to what he has been used to.
"From training last week in Glasgow to sitting on a beach in Durban it has been quite a surreal experience. But it has got its own charm, that kind of Glasgow weather," O'Young said.
"My manager was contacted a while ago, and I had a two year contact in Glasgow, so it was flattering them wanting me to come back."
O'Young also clearly recognised the opportunity presented with George Gregan's record-breaking reign as Wallabies halfback finally over.
"The chance for me to play Super 14 rugby again was what I wanted to do, and with the halfback options in Australia it is a chance for me to press my own claims," he said.
Having spent two years at the Force behind Henjak in the pecking order, the 26-year-old departed for Glasgow at the end of the last season, looking for regular first team action and to be close to his sister Natalie, who lives nearby.
Despite relishing his time in Europe, and Natalie due to give birth in a couple of months, O'Young said he had no hesitation in returning to take Henjak's place.
"It was fantastic, and I really enjoyed my time there. Glasgow gave me a chance to play a different kind of rugby, and to work in those conditions with bigger forwards and a more direct style of rugby," O'Young said.
"And it was difficult leaving Natalie over there. But other than that it was a great chance to play some good rugby with these new rules and get back into it with a chance to go further."
O'Young's immediate challenge will be to get past boilermaker turned playmaker James Stannard, who impressed at halfback during his Super 14 debut in one-point win over the Cheetahs last weekend.
"I am just going to get my head around getting back in the team, and getting used to how the team plays again, and getting myself conditioned to play well," O'Young said.
Meanwhile, Force fullback Cameron Shepherd is still sweating on a knee injury which ruled him out of last week's emotional win.
"It's a little but sore. We'll see how sore it is at recovery tomorrow and we'll make a decision then," Shepherd told the PerthNow website.
"I'm pretty confident and I think I've got an 85-90 per cent chance of playing. I'm looking forward to getting back on track and getting my season started again."
