O'CONNOR READY FOR SEASON START

[RugbyWA]

Saturday, 12 February 2011 7:13pm
RugbyWA


James O'Connor at training
Young Emirates Western Force star James O'Connor says the clubs recent trials delivered the right amount of encouragement and education as the club focuses their attention now towards the regular season kick off next weekend in Brisbane against the Reds.

The West Australian’s defeated the Barbarians in Sydney last Saturday before taking on the Waratahs in Nowra on Thursday where they able to trial a few different combinations without showing their full hand before the season begins.

One of the most pleasing aspects to come from the two matches was the fitness levels of the playing squad, something Coach Richard Graham and Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Charlie Higgins have worked diligently towards throughout the 16 week pre-season.

"Coming back, the boys were a lot fitter than they usually would be. Richard set a good structure in place where the boys were doing a lot of extras off the field," O’Connor said on arrival back into Perth.

"For me and the rest of the Wallabies guys we haven’t done a great deal of rugby specific stuff until those games, most of the pre-season has been about base fitness, we’ve only really just started touching a ball again just before the games.

"I think the conditioning work has really given the squad a positive feeling we’ll be able to run out games a lot harder and that will put us in good stead for the opening rounds.”

It is set to be a big year for the star youngster who has World Cup dreams following the Super Rugby campaign, however O’Connor’s focus is well and truly on helping the Emirates Western Force push their way up the ladder.

"I'd like to make a final, but that's a bit far down the track to be thinking about right now," he said.

"If we can keep our personnel on the field, we've got a lot of depth this year, so it's going to be positive.

"We've all in this together and believe that this group of guys has got a fair bit of potential. We've made some key signings and have a world-class back row. There is definitely enough talent in our squad to be asking big questions of every side in the competition.”

While O’Connor suited up at flyhalf against the Waratahs on Thursday, he believes his time at 10 is only temporary and will be looking to slot into any one of the other positions available in a backline brimming with talent.

"Pre-season games are definitely about experimenting, you want to see who's going to be the right fit in what positions. But as well as that, you want the structure to be good and ours was, so we took a lot out of it," O’Connor said.

"Starting at 10 was a good learning curve for me, it gave me more information about what is required from playing that role and also what a flyhalf would want from me playing outside of them.”

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