In a few short years, James O’Connor has transformed from rugby’s enfant terrible, who wouldn’t grow up, into the sage old head of Flyhalves Inc.

The launch of the new Super Rugby Pacific competition over the next three days is a pivotal point for rugby union in this part of the world.

It’s not just about finding ways to beat those pesky, gifted Kiwis at their own game over the coming months but booming a message of health for the entire code.

You can look at the coffers, infrastructure, the backing of women’s rugby, Test victories over the All Blacks, TV ratings, future events, the flawed schools system and any number of other metrics.

You can also look at who is wearing the No.10 jersey across the country.

Not so long ago, you had seasoned types like Quade Cooper, Bernard Foley, Jono Lance, Christian Lealiifano and others calling the playmaking shots.

It’s super exciting when there has never been a more widespread backing of youth in rugby’s quarterback position.  Reesjan Pasitoa (Western Force who is 20), Carter Gordon (Melbourne Rebels is 21) and Noah Lolesio (ACT Brumbies, 22) were all schooled in Queensland. Ben Donaldson (NSW Waratahs, 22) is the young gun out of Sydney.

The new wave are all in their early 20s. It’s the reinvigoration that Australian rugby has needed.

None will be flawless but that’s the game, as O’Connor will tell them. He dug giant potholes in front of himself just to make the ride more bumpy and fraught.

It doesn’t seem so long ago that O’Connor was the teen star playing for the Wallabies at just 18. Now he’s the old guy.

I’ve always steered away from rushing to the word “redemption” with footballers when that really is a process played out over years. In the NRL, you can relapse on a redemption story in weeks.

O’Connor should now be someone we can all admire. It’s not just been talk but concrete actions to rehabilitate his life, body and rugby career.

He’ll play with a smile when the Queensland Reds open their season on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium.

“Anything after 2017 for me is a gift because I was ready to hang up my boots,” he explains.  “When it comes to game day, that’s when I come alive.

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to play in front of a packed stadium and be able to compete against the best in the world so I’m going to have a smile on my face and enjoy it.”

So low did he get during his European stint that he had a seizure, was floored by injury, dissolved into such insecurity he might stay in bed until 2pm and drank just to feel more numb.

“I don’t need to be flash anymore. That was just ego, really. Some of the photos I put up on Instagram I cringe at now,” O’Connor said.

You know – the platinum hair phase, the hey-look-at-me streaks and so on.  “My personal life is now my sanctuary,” O’Connor said.

Part of that is a 48-hectare bushland property he’s bought. Pre-season, he was practicing his goalkicking and caring for nine alpacas.

It’s a life balance that never existed when his early footy fame meant he could get nightclubs to rope off areas for his entourage.

It’s amazing how O’Connor now sees a world beyond himself and enjoys life all the more. He coaxes more out of teammates and offers advice.

He sees how valuable the off-season Reds-to-Regions visits from Barcaldine to Biloela are for connecting the players with the state they represent and long distance fans with the team.

They are not the Brisbane Reds. Some fans will notice an outline of the state of Queensland embossed on the maroon Reds’ jersey as a new feature. They might miss that the 240 rugby clubs in this state are also named in fine print on the jersey from the Cassowary Coast to Charters Towers and Blackwater to Brothers.

O’Connor isn’t suddenly 21 again. He’s realistic about being 31 and what it takes to stay a step ahead. He relinquished the Reds captaincy because the experience last year was an honour, very satisfying but also draining. He’s focusing everything on a big Reds season, a crack at Eddie Jones’ England and the run to next year’s World Cup.

“I’m not a young man anymore and I need to act that way. I’ve put a program together to progress my rugby,” O’Connor said.  “It’s the tortoise that wins the race, right. I’ve got to make sure I’m making little increases and being smart about it.”

This is not the O’Connor you talked to five years ago. He’d be a perfect sounding board for Gordon, Pasitoa, Donaldson and Lolesio to learn from as they embark on their own footy journeys with potholes they don’t yet see ahead of them.

On a different level, O’Connor has had this redemption on the public stage where he gets to reshape his legacy in the minds of the masses.

Tiger Woods was worshipped for winning a Masters no one thought possible after myriad surgeries. Buying a party dozen of golf balls with the name of a different mistress on each one was quickly outdated.

Wendell Sailor had to get back on the field to submerge his cocaine drama in 2006 or be defined by it forever. A guest spot on Dancing With The Stars didn’t do it but playing for St George Illawarra in 2008-09 did, after a two-year ban.

That’s why you have to feel for Tim Paine. The former Australian cricket captain is 37 and has no shot at a public redemption on the field after the sexting scandal.

O’Connor has taken his lucky break and turned his life around as well as his rugby. It’s taken a few years to type this word but “redemption” it is.

Jim Tucker has specialised in sport, the wider impacts and features for most of his 40 years writing in the media. It has given him a privileged seat covering seven Rugby World Cups, Test cricket, three Olympic Games, golf at Augusta, woodchopping and plenty in between. He has written three books, The Holy Grail Is Ours (1995), Brothers In Arms: The History of Brothers Rugby Club (2009) and Bulldog! Bulldog! 70 Years of Wests Rugby (2022).