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Force to fully test youngster O'Connor
Bret Harris | April 28, 2008 Force to fully test youngster O'Connor | The Australian
TEENAGE sensation James O'Connor is poised to make his run-on debut for Western Force in the Super 14 match against the Chiefs in Perth on Saturday.
Described as the next Matt Giteau, O'Connor, 17, is set to start at inside centre, playing alongside the Wallabies' maestro at five-eighth.
The presence of both Giteau and O'Connor in the inside backs would give the Force two creative threats.
O'Connor boasts similar acceleration and footwork to Giteau.
The Force is in ninth place on the Super 14 table with 24 competition points and is all but out of the race for the semi-finals.
With three rounds to go, coach John Mitchell is believed to be keen to give O'Connor a start to help prepare him for next year.
Scott Staniforth and Lachlan MacKay have played well at inside centre for the Force this year, but O'Connor is seen as the future long-term No12.
Playing against the in-form Chiefs would be a tough assignment for O'Connor, but it would give him a good idea of where he is at the moment.
The Force finishes the regular season with games against the Hurricanes in Wellington and Brumbies in Perth.
A product of Queensland's great rugby nursey, Nudgee College, O'Connor was poached by the Force last year.
O'Connor has only had one appearance off the bench for the Force, against Queensland Reds two weeks ago, but he has played sevens for Australia in Adelaide and Hong Kong.
O'Connor is already in strong demand. His ancestry remarkably makes him eligible to play for the Wallabies, All Blacks and Springboks.
Off contract at the end of the year, O'Connor is being chased by the Reds as well as NRL team Parramatta.
O'Connor had a scholarship with Parramatta when he was 14 and it is understood the Eels are interested in him again.
But O'Connor is expected to remain with the Force.
O'Connor is likely to be a bolter for the Wallabies' end-of-season tour of Europe and if his career progresses as expected he would be in line to play in the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand at just 20 years of age.