Will Genia will welcome the recruitment of James O'Connor to Queensland Reds, after reports linking Super Rugby franchise and player, but only if the exiled back is committed wholly to the team and its culture.

James O'Connor has just finished a contract with Aviva Premiership club London Irish © Getty Images

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O'Connor headed to the northern hemisphere to breathe new life into his rugby career after the Australian Rugby Union ripped up his contract after a drunken incident at Perth airport; he had already developed a reputation as a disruptive influence at Western Force and Melbourne Rebels and with the Wallabies.

O'Connor has just completed a short-term contract with London Irish in England, and he has signed another short-term deal with French club Toulon for next season, but he still hopes to return home to Australia for the 2015 Super Rugby competition in order to press his Wallabies selection claims ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

The Queensland Rugby Union refuses to deny reports that O'Connor, 23, is close to concluding a deal with the Reds, to return to Australian rugby in 2015, but Genia is adamant the franchise must not chase players who aren't prepared to become a part of the team's culture.

"There's no denying he is a class player but again, if he was to come, it'd have to be for the right reasons," Genia said. "I'm sure from a cultural point of view, those things are more important than any other things. We don't want to be saying yes to just anybody and everybody; guys have to want to come and come for the right reasons."

The man who sent O'Connor packing from the Force in 2011, Richard Graham, is now the coach of the Reds and his presence is assumed to be a hurdle to any move for O'Connor. But O'Connor, a native Queenslander, is good friends with Quade Cooper, and his recruitment could be a huge fillip to the Reds during a disappointing year in which they have recorded only three Super Rugby victories and which reached a fresh low with their humbling loss to the Crusaders in Brisbane last weekend.

Queensland take on the Rebels this weekend, and Genia says a sixth consecutive defeat will be almost too much to bear.

"If we do lose to the Rebels it will hurt," he said. "I think we're the only Australian team to not lose to the Rebels in the Super Rugby competition so that's something that we are proud of. Certainly a record that we want to keep hold of."