Career
O'Connor progressed through the junior and youth teams of his local Rumney club, and was capped by Wales at under 16 level, as a prop. Adapting to the role of openside flanker, O'Connor joined the Rumney senior team in 1998, playing in the First Division of the Welsh league. An impressive run of displays as a grafting back rower earned O'Connor a call to join Pontypridd for the 2002 season, and was a consistent presence in the club's European campaigns.
Taking a year's sabbatical in 2007, O'Connor went walkabout in Australia and New Zealand, returning to Pontypridd at the commencement of the 2008-09 season
O'Connor was voted Principality Premiership Player of the Month in March 2009.