'I want the fire and I want the smoke, so it's great first opposition'

AUSTRALIAN FLY-HALF O'CONNOR COULD MAKE TIGERS DEBUT AGAINST FIERCE RIVALS SAINTS

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JAMES O'Connor believes Leicester Tigers are getting the fifth version of the onetime Australian boy wonder whose rugby career has seen plenty of highs and lows.

The 35-year-old fly-half is hoping to make his PREM debut against their “hated” East Midlands rivals Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens tomorrow.

But O’Connor has left the door open to extending his Wallabies career even though he has now joined up with Leicester.

“I never thought I'd come back to the UK to play rugby,” O’Connor told BBC Radio Leicester.

“When I thought about the options I had on the table and where my footy was going, this is the one that excited me the most - to come back here and give my best to English rugby, which I felt like hadn’t been done.”

O'Connor was hailed as “once-in-a-generation talent” when he made his international debut for Australia at the age of 18.

But he was effectively exiled to play in Europe after a string of off-field incidents prompted the Australian Rugby Union to terminate his contract.

O'Connor has had two previous spells in England’s topflight competition, the being with London Irish in 2013.

He then bounced between the Queensland Reds and French club Toulon before another stint in the Premiership with Sale Sharks.

O'Connor then returned to Australia to try to reclaim his Wallabies place, which he eventually managed after three years in the international wilderness.