BERRY’S Tom Connor has put pen to paper to extend his deal with the Australian men’s rugby sevens side, until the end of 2020.
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The Shoals product, who broke through for his World Series debut in Sydney in January, has now become a key cog of coach Tim Walsh’s side.
“I’m really excited to be able to sign on for the next two years,” Connor said.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to represent my country and to be given the opportunity to potentially play at an Olympic Games, was far too appealing to pass up.”
Connor, who is currently out with a right shoulder injury, is excited to continue working with this group, with an eye on the 2020 Olympic Games.
“Our coach Tim Walsh says sevens players ‘need to be a jack of all trades and a master of some’, which basically means you need to be the complete rugby player regardless of what position you play,” he said.
“So for me that just means focusing on little things like ball playing and reading defensive structures in attack – areas I didn’t need train as much coming from the Backrow in 15s.”
As much as Connor loves working under Walsh, his mentor can’t wait to help the 25-year-old take his game to the next level.
“Tom is the man you want in your squad and when the going gets tough you would want Tom by your side,” Walsh said.
“A relentless hard worker, professional, always team first and ruthless over the ball.
“Tom’s hard work, resilience and dedication screams out the cliché 'the secret to success is hard work' and once more he enjoys it."
The Australian side, minus the injured Connor, leave for San Francisco on Saturday, ahead of the Rugby World Cup Sevens on July 20.