Wallabies scrum-half Will Genia has been impressed by a couple of Australia’s returning stars especially James O’Connor.
The 29-year utility-back has been out of the international set-up since 2013 following several off-field incidents. However, it seems as though the former ‘bad boy’ has gone through a complete transformation since last being in a Wallabies camp.
“Tuesday nights, James was always out and about doing stuff because Wednesday we have off. Tuesday night in the last three or four weeks that we’ve had, he’s in his room stretching, doing what it takes in terms of recovery. He understands that this is a huge opportunity for him,” he said.
O’Connor made a last stitch attempt to force his way into the Wallabies World Cup squad in 2015 but failed, although after returning to the Queensland Reds a couple of week’s ago things seem different this time around.
As well as O’Connor, the Wallabies have welcomed back scrum-half Nic White who played against the Springboks last Saturday, and Genia believes that O’Connor should follow White’s example.
“You saw Whitey come back and play very well, hopefully it can be a similar story with James because I think he was on 44 Tests and he was so young when he left. We all know how good he is and hopefully the fact he’s in a better space mentally, he can be an even better player this time around,” he added.
The Wallabies face an uphill task this weekend following last Saturday’s 35-17 defeat to the Springboks, with a test against a high-flying Argentina side up next.
However, Genia thinks that the weekend’s defeat had its positives as the side got to work on their combinations and believes that the team are on the right track.
“We’re in a different position in the sense that we’re trying to do things differently from a game perspective. It was really pleasing to see the way things came together the way they did on the weekend – obviously we didn’t get the result which is disappointing – but trying different things and doing things a different way there’s always going to be some teething problems but I think we’re on track, definitely,” he finished.
The Wallabies will face back-to-back Bledisloe Cup games against the All Blacks following this weekend’s clash against the Pumas as they continue to prepare for the Rugby World Cup.
Genia may be impressed but it remains to be seen whether O’Connor will impress on the field and even if he does one man can not change the problems that the Wallabies face in their search to regain some much-needed form.
