James O'Connor came close to a new chapter in South Africa. Instead, the 36-year-old Wallaby is staying in Australia — and he has now spelled out why the Sharks move never happened.
The 64-Test playmaker, who spent last season with Leicester Tigers, had been linked with Durban after reports that Sharks director of rugby JP Pietersen wanted an experienced international to steer the attack and develop the club's young fly-halves. O'Connor and the Italy international Tommaso Allan were both named as targets. Speaking on the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast, O'Connor confirmed the interest was real.
"I did look at it but that was before the pregnancy," O'Connor said. "It would've been unreal. Obviously I did New Zealand. My mum's parents are South African, my grandad's from Durban, so that would've been a cool experience."
What changed everything was family. O'Connor and his wife Bridget are expecting their first child, a boy, and he said the news reset his priorities entirely.
"As soon as the news came through it was like, I don't particularly want to be in South Africa, I want to be around my family in Australia," he said.
A return to Europe is off the table too. "I won't be going back north. The wife, Bridget, is pregnant — we want to stay put in Australia now," O'Connor said. "I feel like it's time to plant some roots here." He did leave one door ajar for later in his career: "There's always the opportunity to shoot to Japan." Beyond playing, he is already weighing his next move. "I do feel like I've got another good year left of rugby in me playing-wise, but I have ambitions to coach as well, so I'm just trying to figure out how I can blend the two."
For all the intrigue over whether O'Connor would swap gold for the black and white, some of South Africa's most decorated voices had already questioned whether he was the answer the Sharks needed. On the Boks Unpacked podcast, former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers argued the club's problems are structural rather than a matter of one signing, pointing to how often the Sharks have chopped and changed at fly-half between Jean Smith, Siya Masuku and Jordan Hendrikse.
"I don't think fly-half is the only issue that the Sharks have," de Villiers said, before adding a blunt verdict on a disappointing campaign: "The performances from the Sharks are just not acceptable anymore, and we expect more from them if you look at the quality that they have on their books."
Fellow World Cup winner Schalk Burger made the same case using the Lions, the URC's top scorers under game-manager Chris Smith, as the counter-example. Burger argued the issue is identity, not the individual in the No. 10 shirt. "Every single fly-half that's played there, whether it's Curwin Bosch or whoever else it's been in the last three or four years, they all play the same," Burger said. "They are all deep, lateral, and they're not in motion all the time. They battle to get any continuity going."
The Sharks will now build for next season without O'Connor and with a new attack coach, Scott Mathie, arriving from Edinburgh. As for O'Connor, the veteran who helped Australia upset the Boks 38-22 at Ellis Park in 2025 is choosing home over one last overseas adventure — for now.
