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James O’Connor: World Rugby’s Clown of 2015
Published: January 5, 2016
Try as he might, Australia's James O'Connor might look back on the past 12 months as a period he'd rather forget, And after compatriot Kurtley Beale claimed the 2014 award, the 25-year-old now gets the nod as world rugby's clown of 2015.
It could have been all so different for O'Connor, who returned to the Queensland Reds at the beginning of a Rugby World Cup year and, in theory, should have played his way back into the national team under Michael Cheika.
The player's chequered past is no secret. O'Connor was exiled from Super Rugby, representing London Irish and Toulon before making his return with the Reds, at which point he insisted he was a changed man, per the Associated Press (h/t the Guardian):
I made mistakes and it probably took me six months while I was away to come to an understanding. You do grow up. I moved away from the safety of my family and friends.
It was a tough transition but once you get that understanding of where you went wrong, it became pretty clear to me how I could come back on track.
If only such sound advice was heeded, we might have seen one of Australia's brightest prodigies—a man who made his international debut at age 18—finally hit the heights that have so long been expected of him.
But it never came to be. One can't really dub O'Connor anything quite so insulting as a "clown" for struggling to reach his best, but a lacklustre season was sprinkled with moments not becoming of a former teen sensation:
O'Connor finished without a try to his name in 13 starts for the Reds, and his disappointment was crystallised when the club announced in October that his contract had been terminated for "personal welfare reasons."
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