Injuries to Keith Gleeson and Kieron Dawson cleared O’Connor’s path to the number seven jersey, but given his recent performances, few could argue with the 24-year-old’s elevation to the top even if the pair had been fit.

Life was not quite so rosy last season, however, with the Ireland A international suffering an Achilles injury in February which forced him to miss the run-in to Wasps’ glorious double triumph.

It was a major setback as his form had made people sit up and take notice. But he put the break for rehabilitation to good use, improving his conditioning and honing his rugby skills to catapult himself back into the limelight.

“The injury was a big blow but these things happen in professional sport. It’s something you have to get over and the experience makes you a stronger person,” he said.

“I’ve definitely come back as a better player. I worked really hard in the gym and focused on other parts of my game that needed to be worked on.

“Things have been getting better for me with Wasps. I struggled a bit at the start of the season but the last four or five games have gone well for me.”

O’Connor first came to Wasps’ attention during a pre-season match against Connacht: the Galway-born forward was singled out by skipper Lawrence Dallaglio as a handful, prompting director of rugby Warren Gatland to sign him last year.

It was a brave decision to leave Ireland but it has proved the correct one with O’Connor flourishing in the company of England back row internationals Dallaglio and Joe Worsley.

He said: “Moving to Wasps was important to me in that the players I have around me have helped a lot. They’ve looked after me. There are a lot of stars at Wasps but no egos – it’s quite a working-class club.”

South Africa have selected AJ Venter at openside and the presence of the Natal Shark – who made his Test debut against Ireland in 2000 – ensures the Boks will boast a more powerful back row on Saturday.

But O’Connor’s mobility means the tourists should be frequently beaten to the break-down and skipper Brian O’Driscoll hopes his presence will help out-manoeuvre the southern hemisphere giants.

“The South African game is all about power because they have some big, physical guys. You must match them for strength, which isn’t always easy to do, particularly in Ireland’s circumstances because we have a smaller pack,” he said.

“But what we might lack in size we hope to make up for by moving them around and that is what you have to do – create the conditions which will suit you. Hopefully we might see a nice expansive game, particularly with Jonny O’Connor coming in.

“Jonny is very good at disrupting play and hopefully he’ll be doing that, so I’m looking forward to giving him a pat on the back once or twice throughout the game.”