EXCLUSIVE: All Blacks and Crusaders ace hits back at James O'Connor critics

James O'Connor will fulfil a long held ambition when he makes an unlikely debut for the Crusaders in Christchurch on Friday night.

The Wallabies great holds a New Zealand passport through his parents and for years has been fascinated by the prospect of playing for a Kiwi Super Rugby side.

O'Connor was close to signing for the Chiefs in 2021 but will instead scratch the itch for the red-and-blacks against the Hurricanes in a spicy season opener.

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The 34-year-old veteran of 64 Tests will provide playmaking cover on the bench behind young No.10 Taha Kemara.

"He's slotted in really nicely and brings a lot of experience with him - on and off the field," Crusaders and All Blacks star Braydon Ennor told Wide World of Sports.

"He's a really good team man, gets around the young guys. It's pretty important for our younger group of 10s this year to have a guy like him that's willing to share his wisdom and experience and put them under their wing a little bit."

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The Crusaders spluttered without the world class Richie Mo'unga running the show last year, finishing with a dismal 4-10 record.

Fergus Burke, who had been groomed as Mo'unga's successor, instead moved to Saracens in England and has already been named in Scotland's Six Nations squad.

The O'Connor signing was widely panned in New Zealand, including by Crusaders legend Wyatt Crockett.

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"I don't like it," the former All Blacks prop said.

"You're taking short term gain for an experienced player, but you lose that development position for another young guy, who could go on to become an All Black."

Ennor of course wasn't about to rock the boat and went into bat for his new teammate.

"I thought it was a good signing," the speedy centre said.

"We have a big group of young 10s, and just having that bit of wisdom is definitely going to prove handy. James has a calm head on his shoulders and is really willing to lend his wisdom, lend his experience to those guys. I think it's awesome.

"He's a good man and he shares his experiences of being on the other side of the field to the Crusaders in the past and what he found difficult or what he enjoyed about playing us.

"We've done a lot of work on our culture and team building in our preseason and he's been a big part of that.

"Obviously I played against him a few times with the Reds and he's got good feet on him, a good pass. You always had to watch out for him throwing a long, flat one outside of you. It's exciting."

O'Connor told New Zealand media that the Crusaders preseason had been "tasty, fast and tough" under coach Rob Penney.

"I'm sticking in there, keeping up, really enjoying it. They've definitely turned the weather on, I'm loving that," O'Connor said.

"To compare it to Australia, we have a little bit longer of a preseason. We're usually running off eight to 10 weeks whereas here it's, due to the NPC, a little bit shorter.

"But just because it's shorter doesn't mean it's not as tough. We're doing triple sessions a day, big field sessions and it's fast. The ruck speed, I haven't experienced anything like it – you do fitness games, but the ruck speed here in 15 on 15 is another level. It's definitely asking a lot of me.

"It is very exciting for me, and as an Aussie with Kiwi parents to be able to take a peek behind the window and see a club that's had so much success, and to just be a part of it and feel it. I've got ambitions of going into coaching so I'm really enjoying it. It's definitely different, in a great way.

"I'd always thought about it, I'll put it that way. But for it to be able to be reality is a very different thing. I've always wanted to know what it's like to play in New Zealand."

Ennor, meanwhile, said the Crusaders had a chip on their shoulders after last year's disaster.

The club had won the previous seven titles under coach Scott Robertson before he left to guide the All Blacks.

"It's not always a bad thing going through a year like that. Previous to that we had a pretty good run but this is a new group," Ennor said.

"We've got a couple of exciting new signings. We've got Aki (Tuivailala) playing midfield/wing, a kid from Waikato who I'm looking forward to having him in our midfield group.

"Antonio Shalfoon playing lock, a hard man and look out if you're in the breakdown. He's really aggressive and I think that's what just what we need.

"When he (Penney) joined the team it was always going to be a tough job, a new group. But it's good that the team's been through adversity and he's driving a good vision for this year to grind back.

"We've been to a few rural rugby clubs in the preseason. We split into forwards and backs for different camps - which was quite nice to be away from the big fellows.

"We had a wee sleepover together and a few beers and got down to nailing some connections and getting down to some real conversations that always happen late at night.

"That's the sort of stuff that Rob brings. All the backs went to Sheffield, known for their pies, so we all stopped for a pie on the way there and met the locals.

"They cooked us an awesome feed - a pig - and we had a few beers. We got our blow up mattresses out and slept in the clubroom. It was awesome."

CRUSADERS vs HURRICANES in Christchurch, Friday 5.05pm kickoff AEDT

CRUSADERS (1-15): Tamaiti Williams, Ioane Moananu, Fletcher Newell, Scott Barrett, Antonio Shalfoon, Cullen Grace, Ethan Blackadder, Christin Lio-Willie, Noah Hotham, Taha Kemara, Sevu Reece, David Havili (c), Levi Aumua, Chay Fihaki, Will Jordan

Replacements: Manumaua Letiu, George Bower, Sam Matenga, Tahlor Cahil, Corey Kellow, Kyle Preston, James O'Connor, Dallas McLeod

HURRICANES (1-15): Xavier Numia, Jacob Devery, Tevita Mafileo, Caleb Delany, Isaia Walker-Leawere, Brad Shields (co-c), Du'Plessis Kirifi (co-c), Brayden Iose, Cameron Roigard, Harry Godfrey, Kini Naholo, Peter Umaga-Jensen, Bailyn Sullivan, Fatafehi Fineanganofo, Callum Harkin

Replacements: Raymond Tuputupu, Pouri Rakete-Stones, Pasilio Tosi, Hugo Plummer, Peter Lakai, Ereatara Enari, Riley Hohepa, Ngatungane Punivai

Referee: Nic Berry