SPORTSMAIL’S O’CONNOR... A RUGBY MAN OF INTEGRITY
FORMER Daily Mail rugby writer Terry O’Connor has died, aged 92. O’Connor covered 11 Olympic Games and 10 British Lions Tours in an illustrious career that included 30 years working for the Mail. He passed away in the early hours of yesterday morning. Born on August 28, 1925, O’Connor started out as a copy runner for legendary cricket writer C B Fry, working at The Oval from the age of 14. He then lied about his age to join the RAF, serving as a rear gunner in the Second World War. When peace came O’Connor returned to journalism, working as London correspondent for the Kemsley Newspapers group and later the Evening News in London before joining the Daily Mail in 1960. He served as rugby correspondent for 30 years and also covered athletics, boxing and swimming and enjoyed a remarkable run of covering every Olympic Games between 1948 and 1988. He first toured with the Lions in 1962. Upon his retirement in 1990, Gloucester Rugby Club described him as a man whose ‘pen could be vitriolic’, adding: ‘But he’s a nice bloke and a shrewd companion to have a beer with. ‘Forthright, and even mistaken, he could be, but he was never snide. ‘If he believed a thing he wrote it, in a forthright fashion, and you never got the impression that he was just being clever at your expense.’ O’Connor was the last surviving founding member of the Rugby Union Writers’ Club. He is survived by two children — son Barry and daughter Coral, and three grandsons: Conor, Finbar and Callum. Former colleague and O’Connor’s successor as rugby correspondent Peter Jackson said: ‘He was irrepressible, had nerve and was fearlessly outspoken. He was greatly admired by the people who were big in the game.’
Sportsmail’s boxing correspondent Jeff Powell said: ‘Terry was tough love. A hard man, born to be immersed in rugby. He was also the most loyal friend. ‘The two worlds of him were rugby and newspapers, and they embraced this man of absolute integrity who stuck by his principles without fear or favour.’