"You learn lessons every day. We move on to next week," O'Connor said on Thursday.
He focused on the excitement of watching the Wallabies score a drought-breaking Tri-Nations title-clinching win in Brisbane, rather than dwelling on not being part of the on-field action.
"I was more excited for all the boys, to be honest. It was a massive occasion and the boys really stood up," O'Connor said.
"It's an awesome effort. It's going to give us great momentum leading into this World Cup."
While he was confined to the sideline, O'Connor admitted he was caught up in the emotion of the occasion.
"It was an awesome game.
"I think I caught myself on the big screen fist-pumping, which was pretty embarrassing," O'Connor said.
"A game like [the Brisbane test] makes you proud to be part of a whole team, and all 30 have a massive role."
Deans revealed that his gifted utility back had been doing his bit for the team in an off-field capacity leading up to the test in Brisbane.
"He's done a lot of work on behalf of the group in the background over the last week," Deans said.
"We got him working doing some tasks helping staff, helping players, so he was serving the team in another way."
O'Connor said that with no test over the weekend, the squad had a big week of training, with plenty of gym work.
The public were able to farewell the Wallabies yesterday, when they made an appearance in the Sydney CBD before leaving for New Zealand.
Fans were being encouraged to send the players messages of support through social media sites Facebook and Twitter.
- AAP
