AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL JAMES O’Connor will join Toulon next season, according to French sports newspaper L’Équipe.
The 23-year-old is currently on a short-term contract with London Irish, where he has started four Premiership games at fullback. The controversial but talented back was stood down from the Wallabies squad in September following an incident at Perth Airport.
L’Équipe claims the move is a “certainty, even if the duration of the contract is not yet known.” O’Connor was indeed photographed in Toulon at the beginning of November, just days after originally joining London Irish. It now seems that alleged meeting with club president Mourad Boudjellal was a success.
Amusingly, the article in L’Équipe says O’Connor “seems fifteen years old, but is actually 23.” While the remark is tongue-in-cheek, it does point to the issues the gifted Aussie has had with apparent immaturity in recent times. It is understood that none of the franchises in Australia were interested in the 44-times capped back for personality reasons.
O’Connor is undoubtedly an excellent player at his best, and his attacking talents will add another element to Toulon’s back play, if this move is officially confirmed. Boudjellal has intentions of injecting more youth into what is an aging squad on the Mediterranean coast, and O’Connor would certainly represent a move in that direction.
Just in response to the42.ie’s constant ads for Boyle Sports on their rugby articles, I’ll link to the news story of their parent site. The question…will they remove a comment that links to an article on their own parent site outlining Ireland problem gambling, or will they just ignore the fact that they are openly advertising gambling at the same time they are also reporting the harms of gambling?
https://www.thejournal.ie/130k-people-in-ireland-have-a-gambling-addiction-as-new-bill-aims-to-regulate-the-industry-6186839-Oct2023/
#WhEnThEfUnStOpS
@JoeVlogs: Spin that wheel baby!!
@JoeVlogs: Such is the dialethics of life. How do they make money without advertising revenue? Betting, alcohol, etc. all no doubt cause a lot of harm (and arguably a great deal of joy too) but they pay, and people need money to survive, as capitalism evolves so too does our addiction to money. Like why does Soros need more? (because like most business people he’s addicted to accumulating wealth and power). How do we protect the smallest number of people who may be vulnerable to addiction while supporting the majority’s personal freedoms, you won find an answer
@JoeVlogs: ive a gambling issue to ads should be banned plus im a subscriber
Good man Tadhg Furlong, another vital cog in this Irish machine.
A proper attitude can bring you a long way! Massive respect to him
@Tony Metcalfe: I see what you did there
@Tony Metcalfe: it could bring you a couple of furlongs. But at the same time you only need one Furlong
Good to hear he is in good nick. He is a very important player but not as vital as Porter. Bealham was excellent in the 6ns and O’Toole was also reliable. If Porter were to get injured I would be quite apprehensive about the scrummaging ability of his replacements.
Struggling a lot for two years now. First man off the field in the Hcup final on 44 minutes. Man must be broke up. Glad to hear he’s feeling good.
But injuries are catching up he should be around for next world cup do legend