O'Connor has been a sensation at the Force but looks set to join Super 15 rivals the Melbourne Rebels © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Kurtley Beale | James O'Connor

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Teams: Australia | Force | Melbourne Rebels | Rebels

Wallabies star James O'Connor will leave the Western Force at the end of the current Super Rugby season, the Perth club announced on Wednesday.

Utility back O'Connor appeared to be close to re-signing with RugbyWA last week, but, according to the club, after four and a half months of negotiations, their 9am deadline passed without response from O'Connor's representatives. The 20-year-old Wallabies international is now rumoured to be on the verge of agreeing a deal with the Melbourne Rebels, where he would form a formidable back line with fellow Wallaby Kurtley Beale who has signed from the Waratahs.

However, Force head coach Richard Graham, speaking to sportal.co.nz, believes the Brumbies are his likely destination. "I would think with Jake (incoming Brumbies coach Jake White) and Eddie (Jones) coming in there would possibly influence him to go to Canberra," Graham said. "The Waratahs clearly didn't have any interest from the start, the Reds, given the way they've recruited over the last period of time clearly won't have a place for him, so clearly it's going to be Melbourne or the Brumbies. I would think possibly the Brumbies."

O'Connor has already played his last game for the Force as he is serving a week's suspension and it is impossible for his side to qualify for the further stages of the tournament. RugbyWA chief executive officer Vern Reid spoke of the "great deal of regret" he felt in seeing O'Connor leave, who, along with Wallaby openside David Pocock and lock Nathan Sharpe, were the jewels in the Force's crown. "We presented James with extremely generous terms which reflected his talent and standing at the Emirates Western Force," Reid said. "We were fully committed to giving James every opportunity to continue his development through the rugby programme in Western Australia, however, it is clear his final decision has been based on other factors.

"We're still a young club and it is fundamental in our development that everyone is committed to building a cohesive culture that defines a 'team' ethos. The terms being imposed by James' management did not correlate with that objective. It is with a great deal of regret that we will farewell James, however we can be certain that we did everything we could to retain his services and that our offer was fair and reasonable and in the best interests of the Emirates Western Force and rugby in WA," said Reid.

O'Connor is one of the current sensations of Australian rugby, making his debut against Italy in 2008 at the age of just 18. He has already written his name into Wallaby history converting his own try in the dying seconds against the All Blacks to give the Wallabies a historic 26-24 win in Hong Kong last October. Graham was understandly upset at losing a player of O'Connor's undoubted quality, but was pleased the Force did not bow to what he described as "unacceptable" demands from O'Connor's management team.

"We all know that James is a wonderfully talented player however the terms that were being asked of us by his management were, in our view, unacceptable irrespective of the player in question," Graham said.We have a strong belief in our rugby programme and that is evidenced by the number of international capped players being produced out of WA. James has been one of the beneficiaries of that programme and we were certain he could continue to grow within the environment we've created here.

"There will be plenty of conjecture about what James' departure means in terms of our future on the field and I can reassure our members and supporters that our goals do not change. We will continue to recruit exciting new players while our retention has already seen a high calibre of personnel remain committed to rugby in WA. We wish James the best in his future however our concern from now going forward is planning and preparing without him. We are confident we have a robust squad that will display the character to grow and find success in seasons ahead."