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By Iain Payten and Jim Tucker | June 12, 2009 12:00am
JOHN Mitchell liked the look of two things when he went to watch James O'Connor play a schoolboy rugby match in Brisbane three years ago.
The tiny teenager's dazzling step, and the size of his dad Warren.
"What impressed me the most was the boy's footwork, and just looking at him and his dad and his family, there was more growth in him," Mitchell recalls.
"I never questioned his size. I was more impressed with his willingness to have a go and the confidence he has in his ability."
The Western Force coach moved quickly to sign the brilliant kid and beat off the renewed interest of rugby league scouts, who had previously dismissed him as too small.
Just a handful of winters on and O'Connor has emerged as one of the most exciting young talents in decades, and tomorrow night the baby-faced 18-year-old will make his run-on Test debut for the Wallabies.
It could well have been a different story. Had O'Connor been a few kilograms heavier and a centimetre or two taller as a child, there's every chance the blond fullback could have been playing in tonight's Bulldogs-Broncos NRL match - for either side.
O'Connor's athletic gifts had already earned the nickname "Rabbit" and a big reputation to go with his small stature.
As a talented young leaguie playing with the Burleigh Bears, O'Connor was coached by former Queensland Origin coach John Dowling and helped his team win an ARL under-15 tournament with a late field goal.
But NRL scouts - including Wayne Bennett's then assistant Ivan Henjak - couldn't get past the fact O'Connor had "nice skills but is too small".
"The Broncos put three young boys on scholarship from that team but overlooked James," Dowling says.
"I rang the Bulldogs and told them to grab him. They didn't. He had a scholarship for a time through Parramatta but league lost him. He's the one that got away from league, for sure."
O'Connor changed focus to union and before long was at Nudgee College on a scholarship and playing in front of Mitchell. Broncos scouts later came calling, by then they were too late.
At 17, he flew to Perth and O'Connor's raw ability saw him quickly thrust into the action, becoming the youngest Australian Super rugby player when he made his debut in May 2008.
Mitchell didn't care about the size of the body. Only the size of the kid's ticker.
"He has that competitive drive," Mitchell says. "He reads the game extremely well for his age. His game sense is huge, his ability to see space beyond the line is already instinctively there."
It was the same read by Mark Ella when he coached O'Connor briefly in the Australian sevens team - "he has that fire in his belly". And just when the rapid rise seemed like it had gone as far as it could, Robbie Deans bought in.
It was a few days before the Wallabies' spring tour and O'Connor got a call.
"When I first got rang I thought it was just to do a few training sessions," O'Connor said this week.
O'Connor became the second-youngest Wallaby ever with a Test debut off the bench against Italy in November, and this year he continued his progress by playing at No. 12 for the Force.
This week O'Connor was named fullback for the Wallabies, a month shy of his 19th birthday.
"All the older boys are really supportive. Funnily enough, I find I am less nervous in this sort of arena than I am in Super 14. You have your job and you don't have to worry about anyone else," O'Connor said.
Sure, O'Connor still looks 15, but Mitchell's eye turned out to be accurate. After playing at 83kg last year, O'Connor is up to 88kg and is still growing.
"It is all or nothing with James. When he carries he always looks to poke his nose through," Mitchell says.
"And he loves a tackle. They are qualities that don't always come in a player of smaller stature."
So you ask Mitchell where O'Connor stands in all the guys he's coached. Whether the "next Timmy Horan" tag stands up. "Without a doubt," he says. "For me, he is up there with Dan Carter and Matt (Giteau). Up with Aaron Mauger. Andrew Mehrtens. Carlos Spencer. Those guys."
Small guy. Big wrap. Giant future.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/spo...-14823,00.html
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Originally Posted by Burgs
