JAMES O'CONNOR yesterday joined the long list of Wallabies who believed their call-ups to Test status were practical jokes.

The teenager wasn't as emotive as another Wallaby who - several years ago, believing that he was being hoodwinked by a friend - told the then Wallabies coach to perform an impossible physical act on himself when told he had been selected for a tour.

But O'Connor was certainly wary when he was tracked down on Stradbroke Island on Monday and told he had to rush to Sydney to be paraded before the media the following day as one of the new touring Wallabies.

"They had apparently been trying to get me for a few days ago, which was understandable as I was soaking up the beach with a few of my mates on Stradbroke Island," O'Connor said yesterday. "My mum actually rang one of my mates, who drove to where I was staying on the island. He told me that my dad was about to give me a call about being part of the Wallabies spring tour. I thought I was being set-up, and said to my mate, 'Yeah, whatever'. But, thankfully, my father did get hold of me, and explained it was all true."

Thus began a frantic trip. An hour after being told, O'Connor caught the 3.30pm ferry back to the Queensland mainland, where his parents, who live on the Gold Coast, were waiting for him to take him to Brisbane Airport.

Not surprisingly, the teenager yesterday appeared stunned by all the attention. But his self-confidence, which has been repeatedly mentioned by his Western Force teammates, soon came to the fore. He might have looked like the cheeky kid sitting outside the headmaster's office, but he handled the media duties with aplomb, even supplying the perfect answer when asked about his positive state of mind.

"Well, if you're not confident, and don't give it back to the boys, you just cop it more," he said.

What was also obvious is that he is no monster. At just 80kg, he will be the lightest of all the tourists. But that doesn't bother O'Connor, or his coach Robbie Deans. Deans quickly explained that All Blacks notables Daniel Carter and Christian Cullen weren't exactly huge men.