Quietly waiting for the real Test

John O'Sullivan talks to Johnny O'Connor ahead of his Test match debut against the Springboks.

Johnny O'Connor would undoubtedly have undermined the whole Spanish Inquisition process with his reticence, so a light basting from the Irish media at Citywest Hotel was a mere bagatelle to the 24-year-old Galway-born openside flanker who'll make his Test match debut against South Africa at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.

He's certainly not fazed on the pitch, as has been proved throughout his career with underage national sides and also for the past couple of seasons at London Wasps.

But yesterday, plonked on a dais, a natural shyness was understandable.

One senses he wishes to withdraw from the spotlight ahead of the Springbok match, preferring to blend into team dynamics rather than teasing out his Ireland debut. The news of his elevation arrived at yesterday morning's team meeting.

"(I'm) obviously delighted about it. (You) never really know these things, so I just waited for it to happen on the day. I'm pretty delighted, but obviously there's a job to be done at the weekend. (I just want to) keep everything low key for the rest of the week and concentrate on the game."

O'Connor was a revelation last season for Wasps prior to sustaining an Achilles tendon injury in February that denied him, among others things, a place in the European Cup Final in which Wasps defeated Toulouse. The young flanker was philosophical about his time on the sideline.

"Yeah, it was a big blow, but these things happen in professional sport. I think it's something you have to get used to. When you overcome injuries like that, you're stronger for it."

He conceded his "time out" has been beneficial to his overall physical conditioning.

"Most definitely. I have worked quite hard in the gym and on other parts of my game that needed work. It does make you a better player. At the start of the season I struggled; the last four or five games I felt I have been coming into decent form."

His decision to follow his former coach at Connacht, Warren Gatland, to Wasps has facilitated his development as a player. The talent has pretty much always been apparent. One early indication came while playing for Ireland in an under-19 game against New Zealand at Dr Hickey Park. O'Connor was superb that day, slowing down opposition ball, tackling everything that moved and supporting Irish ball carriers, forwards or backs.

There were a couple of abiding memories, one of the young flanker being spat out by the New Zealand threshing machine for the umpteenth time before clambering to his feet to rejoin the fray, bloodied but unbowed.

The other concerned one passage of play in which he made three tackles, and on the fourth occasion in the sequence he actually pinched the ball.

Being at Wasps, surrounded by internationals, has helped him improve, and while he won't single out individuals he does acknowledge, "They have helped me quite a lot and the club has done me proud and looked after me quite well. I have improved my game quite a lot being over there. There are a lot of stars at the club, but it's a pretty kind of working-class club."

Conversation inevitably returns to Saturday, but O'Connor refuses to personalise his debut and declines to be drawn on South African rugby's new pin-up Schalk Burger.

"You want to test yourself at the highest level and I'm looking forward to it. You don't really play against individuals, you play against teams."

One suspects O'Connor's priority this week is to be eloquent on the pitch.