Leeds Rhinos star ready for dream Challenge Cup tie but Jarrod O'Connor issues Widnes Vikings warning
Saturday’s Challenge Cup trip to Widnes Vikings is Leeds Rhinos star Jarrod O’Connor’s dream tie, but he knows if they don’t play well it could become a nightmare.
O’Connor was born in Widnes and joined Leeds’ academy from his hometown team ahead of the 2019 season. His father, Terry O’Connor, finished his glittering playing career with Widnes and the club remains close to Jarrod’s heart.
“I’ve been saying for the past couple of years I hope to get Widnes away,” the number nine said of Saturday’s third round clash at the Betfred Championship side. “I’ve not played there since I left so I am excited to get back there and play against them.
“I know a few of them, I grew up around some of them and still see some of them who live near my mum and dad. They’ve got a good team and they are a very strong Championship side so we definitely won’t be taking them lightly.”
Leeds are beginning their season against opponents with three competitive games already under their belt and Rhinos’ poor recent Cup record adds to the jeopardy. Leeds have won only one Cup game - against amateurs Wests Warriors 12 months ago - since lifting the trophy at Wembley in 2020 and the last time they played second tier opposition was a disastrous defeat at Bradford Bulls in 2019.
O’Connor, though, reckons it is exactly the sort of challenge they need six days before their Betfred Super League opener at Leigh Leopards. “They are one of the strongest Championship sides so it’s a good draw to get ready for Super League,” he added.
“If you get one of the lower Championship sides, no disrespect to them, but it’s probably not the best prep going into a season, especially the big first game of the year we’ve got with Leigh. It’s probably the best prep we could have got, other than London, going into round one.”
Leeds suffered four successive defeats at Widnes from 2015-2018, but the artificial surface Vikings played on when they were last in the top-flight have been upgraded and O’Connor insisted: “I am not too bothered, I feel like this new pitch they brought in in 2019 is a lot more forgiving than the previous one so hopefully we’ll find it easier to play.
“I’ve not actually played on the new one, I did the pre-season on it and then signed for Leeds. The [earlier] one ended up being a bit flat and old and as soon as they got it done it was miles better.”
The Cup clash is O’Connor’s first game since signing a new contract, until the end of 2028, last month. He was in the final year of his previous deal and stressed: “I’m really happy it all got done and happy to be staying at Leeds, having grown up there. Other than first year academy, it is where I came through and I fell in love with the club. I couldn’t see myself playing anywhere else at the minute.
“We are ready to get going now. I feel like we’ve had a good pre-season, both personally and as a team. We already had the best pack in Super League and we saw when our spine clicked no one could touch us. I reckon that extra pre-season when we’ve all trained together - because at the start of last year Jake [Connor] wasn’t there and Lachie [Miller] was injured - is going to be really helpful.”
O’Connor will be the starting hooker on Saturday, with new signing Danny Levi making his debut off the bench.“I don’t think we are 100 per cent sure how it’s going to work out week-in and week-out so we’ll just have to see,” O’Connor admitted.
“I’m sure, no matter what, we will be pushing each other to keep improving, which is going to benefit the team. We both want to be playing as long as we can so we’ll have to see how that pans out.
“It is something that pushes me to get better, it is never a negative thing having two good hookers in the team. Being there to push each other and work on each other’s game is good.”