Kevin O’Connor has signed a two-year contract extension with the NOLA Gold that will run through the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The 26-year-old California native has been with the club since returning from a stint in Ireland part-way through the 2019 campaign.
O’Connor featured in the first two games of the 2020 season. He started in the No7 shirt against Rugby ATL in Week 2. A yellow card received during that match for a head-high tackle on Kurt Coleman was subsequently upgraded to a red card and he would miss the remaining games with suspension.
Though initially signed as a flanker, O’Connor began training as a hooker earlier this year and appeared exclusively in the front row for the Gold Academy side in recent exhibition matches. He will provide additional cover at the position behind returnees Eric Howard and Cam Falcon, who are also joined by new acquisition Stephen McLeish.