National coach Joe Schmidt says the door is still open for James O’Connor to again play for the Wallabies despite the veteran flyhalf being axed following Australia’s 46-19 loss to Ireland.

Having not been selected in Australia’s initial spring tour squad, O’Connor, 35, joined the Wallabies contingent last week and started in the No.10 jersey against the Irish.

However, he has since been sent back to his English club Leicester, with Carter Gordon named at flyhalf for the Wallabies’ clash with France in Paris on Sunday morning (AEDT).

“It would have been great to keep James with us, but with Carter and Tane (Edmed) and Hamish (Stewart) there to cover, it was an extra player that would have been a luxury,” Schmidt said.

“He’s back (at Leicester) with the intent to keep building his game. He certainly has always displayed a real passion to play for the Wallabies, and that hasn’t gone away.

“He was involved in some big performances for us.”

Schmidt said O’Connor’s age would not be a factor in whether he would be recalled to future Wallabies squads.

“Age is probably not one of the numbers that necessarily tips the balance,” the Wallabies coach said.

“Even within a squad, when James first came (back) in (earlier this year), it was really just to support the younger 10s and to help them grow their own game.

“He was really useful in that regard, and then he stepped up and showed then how it was done as well.”

Edmed will be Gordon’s back-up on Sunday on a Wallabies bench that will also include uncapped Queensland halfback Kalani Thomas.

“Kalani has trained for five weeks with us. He’s trained incredibly well, he’s got a sharpness about him, and he deserves an opportunity to demonstrate that,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt said he had found the tour “frustrating”, believing his players had not been rewarded for their improvement.

“When you over-chase something, you always make yourself a little bit more vulnerable, and that’s part of the learning,” he said.

“It’s frustrating to go through a learning period, and not have the apparent reward that a result gives you.

“I know how hard the players are working and what it means to them, and they are frustrated that they feel like they’ve let supporters down.”

A loss to France will result in the Wallabies failing to secure a win on a four-Test tour of Europe for the first time since 1958.

“It would be one of the toughest last couple of weeks that I’ve had, but I do feel that having the experiences that I’ve had over the 20-odd years of being a professional rugby coach, it does allow me to have some context and to give (the players) some context that there’s not always immediate reward for effort, and there’s not always immediate reward for improvement,” Schmidt said.

“The challenge is to be able to stick with that. They’re determined to do that because they’re incredibly proud of representing their country, and they’re incredibly committed to earning the support.”

Wallabies: Angus Bell, Billy Pollard, Taniela Tupou, Jeremy Williams, Nick Frost, Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (c), Jake Gordon, Carter Gordon, Dylan Pietsch, Len Ikitau, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Harry Potter, Max Jorgensen. Bench: Matt Faessler, Aidan Ross, Allan Alaalatoa, Rob Valetini, Carlo Tizzano, Kalani Thomas, Tane Edmed, Filipo Daugunu.

Originally published as Joe Schmidt defends axing James O’Connor, saying the veteran Wallaby’s career is not over