Blowing career

JAMES O’Connor’s new maturity has sadly lasted two weeks and the alleged cocaine bust in Paris has flushed away any playing future in Australia.

On the enigmatic figure’s recent visit for the Brisbane Global Tens, there were strong tones of a fresh start, a wiser head and shedding baggage.

He happily turned up at 7am at Suncorp Stadium for a photo and mended bridges on Triple M radio with host Greg Martin, who had once branded him a “little punk”. He admitted he wasn’t blameless for his previous trip-ups and just wanted to move on.

The sceptics were quick to question whether you could trust that vibe when all the positive utterances were being made under yet another wacky hair choice of platinum blond.

“Redemption” was too big a gamble on a word but I gave O’Connor the benefit of the doubt that these were signs he had grown up. “No one teaches you how to deal with things when you become a professional athlete so early (at 17),” O’Connor said. True but he’s now 26. The same James O’Connor was yesterday in a jail cell after police caught him allegedly trying to buy drugs with former All Black Ali Williams outside a nightclub in Paris.

Whether guilty or not over this Paris drama, he’s fallen face first with his words not matching his actions yet again.

It’s a recurring problem and that’s why he lost the trust of senior Wallabies teammates.

Super Rugby clubs may cuddle and rehabilitate flawed players within their ranks but they don’t actively go out and pay big money to bring problems to their squad.

O’Connor’s Wallabies career is over and that truly is sad when his 44 Tests should only have been the start.

The devil for players such as O’Connor isn’t anything in a game because he can tackle 120kg forwards and sidestep brilliantly. It’s time off because this trouble has unfolded while his club Toulon had a week off during the Six Nations.