Harri O'Connor (born 25 October 2000) is a professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays as a

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

for

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

club

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

and the

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

national team.

Club career

Scarlets

A member of the Dorchester Rugby Football Club youth side, O'Connor was part of the

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

academy, before being spotted by the WRU Exiles program and moving to Wales. O'Connor was named in the Scarlets academy for the 2020–21 season. In March 2021, he joined

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...

side on loan. He made his debut on 7 March against , coming on as a replacement. O'Connor made his debut for the Scarlets on 16 October 2020 in a friendly against the

Dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

. His professional debut came against the Ospreys on 1 January 2022. On 4 April 2024, O’Connor signed a contract extension with the Scarlets. During a preseason friendly, O’Connor suffered an Achilles injury, ruling him out of the majority of the 2024–25 season.

International career

Wales U20

O'Connor was named in the Wales U20 squad for the 2020 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, and made three appearances off the bench.

Wales

He was called up for the

Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team () represents the Welsh Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international agai ...

on their June 2022 to South Africa, as a backup for Tomas Francis. O'Connor was not named in any of the match day squads. On 2 November 2023, O’Connor was added to the Wales squad for the friendly against the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

, and came off the bench in the second half of the uncapped match. O'Connor was added to the squad for the

2024 Six Nations Championship The 2024 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Men's Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was a rugby union competition that took place in February and March 2024, and featured the men's national teams of England national rugby union tea ...

ahead of the match against

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, following injuries in the squad. He made his debut on 17 March 2024, coming off the bench against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Personal life

O'Connor was born in England, where his father was based for the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. His younger brother Sam is also a prop, and a member of the Scarlets academy.

References

External links

*
Harri O'Connor
at

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...

Scarlets Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Harri 2000 births Living people Welsh rugby union players Scarlets players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Rugby union props Nottingham R.F.C. players Sportspeople from Northallerton Rugby union players from North Yorkshire Wales international rugby union players People educated at Llandovery College