O’Connor called back from England to rejoin Wallabies for Bledisloe Cup test in New Zealand

SYDNEY — James O’Connor’s plane ticket to England earlier this week to join his new club Leicester now has a return component — the 35-year-old flyhalf has been recruited again by the Wallabies for the last two Rugby Championship tests against New Zealand.

O’Connor, who will play this season in the England premiership with the Tigers, was one of 34 players selected Thursday in Joe Schmidt’s extended squad for the Bledisloe Cup tests against the All Blacks on Sept. 27 in Auckland and in Perth, Western Australia a week later.

The Wallabies are 2-2 in the Rugby Championship, as are the other three teams in the tournament — New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa. Australia lost 28-26 to Argentina last week in Sydney.

O’Connor played a pivotal role in Australia’s stunning upset win over World Cup champion South Africa in Johannesburg last month in the Rugby Championship series opener. His test recall came after he was selected for the Wallabies squad but not used in the 2-1 series loss to the British and Irish Lions.

Scrumhalf Jake Gordon has recovered from a hamstring injury to return to the squad ahead of the first Bledisloe Cup match, his return allowing veteran Nic White to go back into retirement.

Gordon is the only new face from the group that prepared to play against Argentina in Townsville and Sydney over the past two weeks.

All-time Australian record holder James Slipper is just one match away from becoming the first Wallaby to play 150 tests. He would join Alun-Wyn Jones of Wales and New Zealand’s Sam Whitelock as the only players to reach that milestone.

The squad will leave for Auckland on Sunday.

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