O'Connor's unexpected Wallabies joy

Pat O'Connor's surprise elevation into the Wallabies training squad has vindicated the big lock's decision to give professional rugby a whirl in Northland.
His injury-free season has allowed him to regain the form to match his reputation as a player and replacing his notoriety gained after a horror run of serious injuries.
The Queenslander had surgery for a cruciate ligament tear in 2007 after making just six appearances for the Western Force in the Super 14 - after recovering he slipped over on gravel and had to go under the knife again. Last year, he took up a contract with the Taniwha to get game time but his fresh start in the game was derailed by a lingering concussion. Finally passed fit to play, he injured his hand in the warm-up before his comeback game and in the end managed to only get a few games in before the end of the season.
This year has been completely different and his hard work in the Taniwha pack has not gone unnoticed - he was awarded a contract for the Waratahs for the 2011 season and now has been named in Robbie Deans' 40-man training squad.
"It came as a big shock, I certainly didn't see it coming. I'm still rolling around with excitement."
"Being selected made all of the last few years of hard luck worthwhile, and allowed me to think that my new goal (of playing for Australia) is more achievable," O'Connor said.
Four players will be cut from the training squad - at the end of next week - when the Wallabies touring side to Hong Kong and Europe is named. O'Connor isn't about to start talking about the possibilities of making the squad - he feels he might jinx his luck - and who could blame him?
"I'm trying not to think about it too much, it's been such a big surprise to me so I'm just going over to train next week and see how things pan out," he said.
"I'm thinking that if anything comes from it, it will be such a big bonus for me, but if the last few years has taught me anything, it's that you don't want to get ahead of yourself."
The 25-year-old leaves today for Sydney to start Wallaby training on Monday. The only down- side to a fantastic week was Northland's disappointing 13-25 loss to Hawke's Bay, a performance not helped by a malfunctioning lineout. "Hawke's Bay were up for it and they knew where we were going (in the lineout) and I guess we didn't handle it that well, when we tried to find a plan B that's when the wheels really fell off," he said.
O'Connor said there was nothing wrong with the Taniwha lineout but problems surfaced under pressure. "We had the same blokes that have been executing well over the last few weeks and it was very disappointing because it had a pretty crucial impact on the end result of the game."
The Wallabies touring squad will be named on Thursday.