Wally O'Connell

Wally O'Connell (born 1923, Paddington, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a five-eighth for the Australian national team. He played in 10 Tests between 1948 and 1951 as captain on 1 occasion.

Club career

His club career commenced in 1942 with the Eastern Suburbs club with whom he spent seven seasons and played 80 games. He was the Roosters' pivot in their 1945 premiership final victory over Balmain. He spent the 1949 season as captain-coach with Christian Brothers Wollongong.

Having been admitted to the Sydney top-grade competition in 1947 the young Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in 1949 had suffered three lean seasons and set about to secure the services of O'Connell, then regarded as one of the stars of the Australian game. The Manly committee secured O'Connell with a 350 pound offer but his registration for the 1950 season was thwarted when Eastern Suburbs blocked the transfer on residential grounds. The Easts committee were dissatisfied with residential evidence O'Connell was able to table for himself and sought proof that O'Connell's wife had also already made the move to Manly. O'Connell was unable to provide this on-the-spot at the meeting, the transfer was blocked and on principle he chose to sit out the 1950 season thereby also jeopardizing his representative career.

O'Connell played two seasons with Manly as captain-coach' leading them to 2nd place on the 1951 competition ladder and to the club's first Grand final appearance.

Representative career

With senior representative matches canceled during WWII O'Connell didn't make his Test debut until 1948 against New Zealand in Sydney.

He was selected for the 1948-49 Kangaroo Tour and played in five Tests and 16 minor tour games. His sole appearance as captain of the Kangaroos was in the First Test at Leeds of the 1948 Ashes series.

His final international appearance was in the 3rd Test of the 1951 domestic series against France.

Post playing

In retirement O'Connell commenced a media career calling rugby league games for Sydney radio on 2UW. In 1966 he took up the coaching role at Manly and was responsible for promoting the young Illawarra junior and future Immortal Bob Fulton straight into first-grade at age 17.

As of 2008, O'Connell remains Australia's oldest living Test captain.

Sources

• Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney
• Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn B

External links

• Wally Oconnel at Silvertails.net