Des Connor

Des Connor

Full name	Desmond Michael Connor
Date of birth	9 August 1935 (1935-08-09) (age 76)
Place of birth	Ashgrove, QLD
Height	1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	78 kg (170 lb)
School	Marist Brothers College
Occupation(s)	School Teacher
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Scrum-half
Amateur clubs
Years	Club / team
	Brothers Old Boys
Provincial/State sides
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1954–59	Queensland
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1958–1959 1961–1964	Australia  New Zealand	12 15	(0) (3)

Desmond Michael Connor (born 9 August 1935 in Ashgrove, QLD) is an Australian former rugby union halfback who represented internationally for both the Australian and New Zealand national rugby union teams. He is an inductee in the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame.

Australian rugby career

After taking up the game at the Marist Brothers Ashgrove, Connor honed his skills further with the Brothers club. He made his representative debut for Queensland in 1954 and made further appearances for the state over the next five years.

He was selected in Australian national squad for the Wallabies 1957–58 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France. Connor made his Australian test debut on 4 January 1958 against Wales and played in all five internationals on the Australian tour. Later that year he captained the Wallabies in Tests against the New Zealand Māori rugby union team, and then played against the All Blacks on a tour of New Zealand.^[1]

At the start of the 1960s he left Australia to continue his teaching career in New Zealand.^[1]

New Zealand rugby career

In New Zealand he started playing at the Marist club, won selection for Auckland and in 1961 made his All Blacks debut against France having fulfilled the short-term residency requirement in force at the time. Connor toured Australia with the All Blacks the following year and eventually went on to win 12 caps for his adopted country, tasting defeat just once.

Coaching

He was to return to Australia as a coach^[2] and led the Wallabies out in their home series against New Zealand in 1968, where he unveiled to the world the tactic of playing with a shortened line-out – a ploy still employed today. He also oversaw tours to South Africa in 1969 and 1971 before eventually stepping down.^[3]

It was Connor’s representation to the ARU after the 1969 tour that earned a Wallabies coach the right to also serve as a selector. He was also instrumental in organising Barbarians teams to forge closer links between schools and club rugby in Queensland.

Published sources

• Howell, Max (2005) Born to Lead – Wallaby Test Captains, Celebrity Books, Auckland NZ

References

1. ^ ^{a b} ARU (10 September 2008). "Des Connor inducted into Wallabies Hall of Fame". rugby.com.au. http://aru.rugby.com.au/news/wallabies_2008/des_connor_inducted_into_wallabies_hall_of_fame,113583.html/news/archive/section/21825. Retrieved 2 February 2011. 
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ [2]

External links

• Des Connor at AllBlacks.com

Persondata
Name	Connor, Des
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1935-08-09
Place of birth	Ashgrove, Queensland
Date of death
Place of death