O’Connor to auction boots for flood relief

A week ago we reported about the efforts of some of the Australian national rugby players who are lending their support to flood-hit Queensland.

Since then more players have added their weight, either through sharing Tweets (Twitter messages) about where support can be had, or helping to fill sandbags, etc.

Now, Wallaby James O’Connor has lent his weight to the Queensland Flood Relief effort by offering up for auction arguably the most important set of rugby boots the Qantas Wallabies have had in recent times – the actual pair that kicked Australia to victory over New Zealand in Hong Kong late last year.

BlitzBokke.com was there and about 5 metres away from where the youngster punted the ball to win the match for his team.

James O’Connor pictured in Hong Kong last year (Pic: Mike Jansen)

The 20-year-old, who attended school in Brisbane and whose family lives on the Gold Coast, scored a try after the final siren and then calmly converted it from wide out at the Hong Kong International Stadium to secure the Wallabies a 26-24 win over the All Blacks.

It was Australia’s first victory over New Zealand in 11 attempts dating back three years and denied the All Blacks a shot at the world record for the most consecutive wins in Test rugby. New Zealand had won 15 in a row prior to Hong Kong, and were just two games shy of the official International Rugby Board record of 17 consecutive Test wins.

The boots that sealed the victory, and created rugby history, will be offered via auction on ebay, with all proceeds to go to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal. They would make a wonderful acquisition for collectors of rugby and sporting memorabilia worldwide.

Good on ya Bieber!