Whether O'Connor will be part of the Wairarapa-Bush starting line-up for the Mid-Canterbury match won't be known until after tonight's training session but with Rima Marurai, who wore the No 7 jersey against King Country, unable to train this week because of work commitments there is every chance he will be given the nod.
And, if so, he would probably make up a loose forward trio also containing Johnie McFadzean on the blindside flank and Tom Fleming at No 8. McFadzean came off the reserve bench against King Country and was one of his team's better performers in a mainly disappointing effort.
The decision of head coach Mark Rutene and his assistant, Paddy Gough, to replace McWhirter with another outsider might be questioned by those who would prefer to see them lean more towards local talent but Rutene had the perfect answer for them yesterday, saying they would have looked closely at a couple of locals who had starred at club level but they had put themselves out of the reckoning by making themselves unavailable for the union's senior B side.
If there is to be any other change in the pack it would probably come at lock.
The rugged Sam Marshall-Wilson is now fit and raring to go after having had his club season disrupted by injury and it would be no surprise to see him partnering the ever-reliable Andrew McLean in the middle row.
There are several question marks over the backs.
For instance who of Zeb Aporo and Inia Katia should start at halfback, should Robbie Anderson or Mike Te Whare (or both) come into the midfield and should the strong running Paul Tikomainvalu be shifted from centre to wing, and at whose expense.
Wairarapa-Bush will go into Saturday's match as rank outsiders as evidenced by the latest TAB odds.
Somewhat remarkably after their below-par effort last weekend, they are still second favourites behind Mid-Canterbury for the Meads Cup but, whereas Mid-Canterbury have firmed to odds of $2.25 after their first-up 52-27 victory over West Coast, those about Wairarapa-Bush have "blown out" from an initial $3.75 to $6.
Rutene, for his part, accepts Mid-Canterbury will be a tough nut to crack but he took enough heart from the vigour his players displayed at their training session on Tuesday night to anticipate a much improved effort this time round.
"It was a pretty physical session, they really smashed into each other," he said.
"We didn't need to talk too much about Taupo, everybody knows we let ourselves down there."
Kick off for Saturday's match is at the earlier-than-usual time of 1.30pm and entry is free thanks to sponsorship from Wairarapa Building Society.
