James O'Connor has laughed off his training ground bust-up with Phil Waugh, claiming it was "all in good fun".
Teenager centre dismisses clash with Waugh
James O'Connor has laughed off his training ground bust-up with Phil Waugh, claiming it was "all in good fun".
The 19-year-old centre clashed with the veteran flanker at the end of a physical two-hour session at Coogee Oval in Sydney after being tackled by Waugh.
After a scuffle on the deck, both players had to be separated by team-mate Matt Hodgson and scrum coach Patricio Noriega.
However O'Connor, who is likely to come into the side for the Bledisloe Cup blockbuster against New Zealand in Sydney, has dismissed the clash with the Waratahs skipper.
"I think a lot of enthusiasm was brought today to training, it's pretty competitive as you saw, but I think we're training how we want to play - with a bit more mongrel ... but it's all in good niggle," he said.
Competitive
"We were getting pretty competitive and I don't think either of us wanted to back down but it was good - it's all in good fun.
"I think our approach is we've got to bring a bit more mongrel to the game and step up our physicality, so I think that's what we brought to training today and like I said it was pretty intense.
"When I'm on the rugby field I get competitive and I switch into my rugby mode so whatever happens on the park stays on the park, and I'm just excited really for the next game."
George Smith, who is set to captain the Wallabies in the absence of the injured Stirling Mortlock, claimed the flare-up showed how much passion the side has.
"I think it shows that we care about what we do and the work that we do out here on the field," he said.
"The boys want to perform and improve as players and when you do see contests like that, it shows that the players care about what they do."
