James O'Connor drops the F-Bomb during half time interview

I've never really understood the point of having a halftime interview. It must seriously annoy the players.

1) Horrible hairstyle

2) I love the way that every rugby player, at half time, speaks extremely fast, uttering words at Mach 3. The brain just seems to flip the power switch on. This is surely the reason why a minute lasts a long time when you're on the field, but mere instants when you're waiting on the sideline.

3) About swearing, I don't see Australia as a puritan country, I gather it's just that O'Connor is a well-brought up young lad? Here in France there's swearing on TV all over the place. I've even heard congressmen say "you're breaking my balls", for instance, or "damn shit!" during prime time TV, but it's altogether never really injurious, it's more like cussing.

I think swearing on live TV is sort of frowned upon in most countries. There are always those that will phone up with complaints over ANYTHING on TV, therefore when someone does drop the F-bomb, a lot of phones must light up like its Christmas... Especially if this was shown during the day or early afternoon/evening. So I suppose depending on what network it is done on "Fox sports" they may get fined for it...

Haha, about your congressmen, was he a South park fan? or at least an Eric Cartman fan?

Aha Cartman! Respectoooo-mi-autoridaaaaad!
Well "casser les couilles", breaking (one's) balls, is kind of a common expression, although it's definite swearing.
I think that just like adult nudity in public is commonplace in Sweden, and mild-mannered policemen are commonplace in Britain, mild swearing on TV in France is quite common. It's just one of these cultural things.

Australians do a lot of swearing, it's true, and some of it on tv.
It's funny, there are swear words you can say on tv and ones you can't.
You can say shit on tv, and it's no problem, but you can't say fuck.
Actually it's even a bit more complicated. You can say fuck but only after 10:30pm or something (I can't remember the actual time it's permitted), you can say shit or crap or damn or stuff like that any time.

But no one will care that JOC said fuck. It's just funny.

Someone, somewhere, in the deepest darkest depths of Australia, will be right now writing a letter about JOC's swearing on TV... You can bet your boots on that... lol..

Looks like he's trying out for a revival of Duran Duran.

I'm with Facepalm, it's got to be frustrating, I mean you're trying to focus on the game and then you give an interview? I have always used half time to get the team to regroup, calm down, gather their thoughts as well as gathering my own, and focussing on what we each did right so as to keep it up, and addressing what we each did wrong and making sure it doesn't happen again.

JOC still looks like Bieber, regardless of the terrible new haircut...

I am also always horrified when I have to sit and watch a panting rugbyman answer a journalist's boring question (especially when the question is of a "aren't you doing something wrong out there?" variety).

Oh yeh or the kind of "how do you feel?" after an underdog team plays their hearts out and loses narrowly.. I always wonder if the journalists think at all?

I think it was the scottish coach who to a question about "how do the players feel?" after such an incident, he said "how do you think they feel?"

I think his barber missed a spot...

Poor lad, he was completely gassed with a mic shoved in his face!

Not a fan of the new 'do, and it looks way worse from the other (left-hand) side. I might actually prefer the "Bieber" on him. Looks like Kurtley Beale might be going to the same barber too.

Ice Ice baby...

I had a good chuckle at this article on Sydney Morning Herald's RugbyHeaven.com.au site:

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/oconnor-plays-fast-and-loose--and-creates-perfect-tv-20120701-21b3f.html

'Our favourite remains victorious skipper Kieran Read at the end of the Waratahs-Crusaders match in Sydney in 2009. An excited Read appeared to have drunk a pint of red cordial straight after the Crusaders' win that ended a run of losses. Asked what had prompted the form turnaround, Read said on live TV: ''We knew we would have it over them if we played with a bit of width. We played with the ball and it was f---ing great.''

As soon as Read dropped the F-bomb, he suddenly realised where he was. He produced the perfect ''Oops'' look, like a five-year-old who had been nabbed pilfering his sister's presents on Christmas Eve.

Read sheepishly made a quick exit right, before a filthy Phil Waugh was brought in, and the Waratahs skipper went for the barb. When asked if the Waratahs were now under pressure, Waugh snapped back: ''The only pressure is coming from you blokes.'' '

Classic! I wish I could find a video.

I had a look on YouTube for it but couldn't find any reference to it. Rugbydump??

He swore? I couldn't even understand what he was saying.

"Fu-- sorry" barely counts as swearing on TV. I've heard worse from Super Rugby commentators.

If he didn't apologise i don't think anyone would have realised, he said it so quietly.

I don't like swearing. I don't do it, and I don't like listening to it.

This was a bit like Israel Dagg's shoulder charge on Kearney in the second test, "I couldn't pull out, I was committed." Only JOC managed to pull out!

As far as the haircut goes: Meh, shit happens. But that haircut... I actually like it, but I think it would look a lot better if he hadn't just been playing 40 minutes of rugby.

Jokes..