Former Wallabies playmaker in talks with Crusaders

By Nick Bewley

The Crusaders look to have found a short-term solution to their issues at first five with 63-test Wallabies playmaker James O’Connor on the verge of signing with the 14-time Super Rugby champions for the 2025 season.

Newstalk ZB and the Herald understand the 34-year-old is in the process of finalising a move to Christchurch after confirmation last month that he’s leaving the Queensland Reds for “an overseas club”.

A Crusaders spokesperson says they’ve been talking to O’Connor but couldn’t provide any further comment. The 11 Super Rugby squads are expected to be publicly announced in full at the end of October.

It’s not the first time O’Connor has expressed a desire to play on this side of the Tasman. He made an approach to join the Chiefs for the 2021 season, only for it to be vetoed by Rugby Australia.

O’Connor’s parents are New Zealanders, and he holds a Kiwi passport.

He burst onto the Super Rugby scene as a 17-year-old making his debut for the Western Force in 2008. O’Connor became the second youngest Wallaby in history later that year.

He’s amassed 127 Super Rugby appearances in all at the Force, the now defunct Melbourne Rebels, and the Reds, as well as two separate stints in Europe for Toulon and the Sale Sharks.

The Crusaders have been in the market for a first five since the departure of Fergus Burke to Saracens in July. Burke missed the bulk of the 2024 season due to an Achilles injury, exacerbating a bind the side found itself in after Richie Mo’unga’s move to Japan.

The Crusaders tried five different players in the ten jersey across the campaign in Rivez Reihana, Taha Kemara, David Havili, Riley Hohepa, and Burke.

They missed the Super Rugby playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade, returning just four wins from 14 matches.

O’Connor wouldn’t be the Crusaders’ first high-profile overseas recruit. They most recently signed Wales veteran Leigh Halfpenny, only for a serious chest injury to limit his playing time to just one regular season match in May.

O’Connor’s former Wallabies teammate Digby Ioane earned three caps for the Crusaders in 2017, while Pumas loose-forward Pablo Matera became a cult hero in the 2022 title-winning side.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission