James O’Connor brought his wealth of experience to the Crusaders side for 2025, with his debut match for a New Zealand Super Rugby team against the Hurricanes in Round One.

The youngest player to ever play in Super Rugby, James O’Connor began with Western Force in 2008 at 17 of age. His performance then earned him selection for the Wallabies and he was awarded Rookie of the Year for both squads.

James played for the Melbourne Rebels where he was part of their leadership group. He then headed overseas to London Irish, notably scoring all their 22 points and the only try in a game against Worcester Warriors. He also played for Toulon, Sale Sharks then returned to  Queensland Reds and was again selected for the Wallabies and their 2019 World Cup campaign. In 2021 James captained the Reds who were undefeated while under his leadership, resulting in winning the Super Rugby AU.

He has almost 70 caps for the Wallabies, is the second highest point scorer for the Western Force and 3rd highest for Queensland Reds.

James is a versatile player who can play anywhere in the back line, with over 200 professional rugby games under his belt before arriving at Rugby Park.