Young Gun: Piers O’Conor – Wasps full-back

Making an LV=Cup appearance for Wasps was the primary target of Piers O’Conor at the start of the season.
But two months in and the 19-year-old full-back has been forced to find a new goal after starting for the Black and Gold in the opening two rounds of the Anglo-Welsh competition.
He made his debut two weeks ago at Sale before impressing in front of his home crowd at Adams Park last Sunday in Wasps’ 43-22 win over London Irish.
Breaking into the Premiership side is next on his agenda but he also has an eye on England U20s selection after being called up to their training camp last month.
“My goal at the start of the season was to make a LV=Cup appearance so it was nice to not only achieve it but to get two starts in the opening two rounds,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“It was quite nerve wracking to run out against Sale and I was quite nervous. But guys like Ben Jacobs helped me out a lot and made sure I was okay.
“The second game at Adams Park was a lot better mainly because it was at home with our own fans supporting us. I felt a lot more comfortable and we won which made it even sweeter.
“My next goal is to make a Premiership appearance and it’d be great to be involved in the U20s Six Nations at the start of next year.
“Because my birthday is only three days before the cut-off date, I’m usually too young in my first year of age groups so this year is my only realistic shot at making the U20s.
“I was both shocked and surprised when I was asked to come along. I haven’t really had a huge amount to do with the international set up so far so it’s pretty exciting and a huge opportunity for me.”
Growing up in Sussex, O’Conor played for a host of different clubs but his fondest memory of youth rugby came with Heathfield and Waldron when they won the U17s National Bowl in 2012.
But joining Eastbourne College propelled his career to new heights under the guidance of former Bath flanker and England Sevens assistant coach Russell Earnshaw.
With an Irish grand-father, he went on to represent Ireland U19s against Australia in Belfast last December and, soon after, Wasps were quick to snap him up.
Learning his trade as a winger, O’Conor recently switched to full-back in a common agreement between Wasps and the England U20s set-up.
He said: “I was playing for Worthing before joining Wasps but I never got to run out for the first team because I was still at school and couldn’t fully commit to training. Working with Russell at college was great and he played a massive part of where I am today.
“I only moved to full-back five weeks ago just before the England U20s camp because the coaching staff wanted me to and Wasps went along with it.
“It’s still relatively new to me but I’m working hard to pick it up as quickly as I can. My kicking game and positioning has to improve but I am loving every minute of it.
“I’m going to train with the first team at Wasps now but I’ll be playing for Henley in National League Two South when I’m not involved with Wasps.
“The Hawks are doing great at the moment and they play an exciting brand of rugby which makes it very enjoyable.”