When Jimmy O’Brien came home from the 2023 World Cup, hugely disappointing though Ireland’s latest quarter-final exit had been, he probably would have envisaged his international career panning out differently. But, as it transpired, his late call-up to the Irish team last Saturday against the Wallabies afforded him his biggest game since then.
A neck injury sidelined him for five months and on his return from that a torn hamstring ruled him out of the next autumnal campaign. By his own admission, his form suffered before a strong end of season with Leinster led to him being named in the squad for this Nations Championship series.
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Even then, he wasn’t in the match-day 23 to face the Wallabies, whereupon Robert Baloucoune’s withdrawal led to O’Brien’s late call-up.
How late?
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“Not too early, no. I knew there was a chance. Rob was kind of niggled, but as we got to the ground, I found out. I knew I was in,” says O’Brien.
And he was itching for it. O’Brien’s only Tests since the last World Cup had been against Georgia, Portugal and Japan.
“I was delighted to play. It was probably one of the bigger games I’ve played in the last couple of years. I did well in that World Cup, but then injuries every year and being in and out of form. So yeah, I was delighted to play.”
Feeling healthy and confident, O’Brien rediscovered his best form in the second half of this season. This was evident in his improved strike rate, from two tries in 20 games last season to seven in 22 this campaign.
“I put a bit more emphasis on it myself I’d say, to try and score. I know Leo [Cullen] said to me during the season, he was like: ‘Playing wing, we need wingers scoring.’
I was like, ‘yeah, fair enough’. Because I probably wouldn’t have been a traditional winger I’d say, I wouldn’t have played wing until maybe six years ago now. I’m getting on.
“I probably wouldn’t have grown up being like, ‘oh, I’m the try scorer’ and that kind of mindset. So we spoke about it and I probably had a bit more in front of my mind towards the end of the season.”
This included a run of five tries in seven appearances for Leinster, despite which he was one the unlucky players to miss out on some big match-day squads, notably the last three rounds of Leinster’s Champions Cup campaign, and also the URC final.
“I was massively frustrated in Leinster but I probably got better at dealing with it this season where it didn’t really affect me as much.
“Going into games after I was just kind of thinking, ‘okay, I’ll get another chance, I feel like I’m playing well’. Whenever I did get a chance I tried to prove that I should have been playing and make it tough for Leo. But I was bitterly disappointed to miss out in the Champions Cup and the URC final.”
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O’Brien was one of Leinster’s true hard-luck stories in the season’s run-in. Yet this was largely overlooked amid the outcry over James Lowe’s much-publicised contractual impasse with Leinster and the IRFU. That said, Lowe’s ensuing departure to Japan has opened a door, albeit O’Brien has decidedly mixed feelings about this.
“There’s obviously an opportunity with someone retiring, or someone moving on, or someone getting injured,” says O’Brien. “With Lowey, it was actually quite disappointing. I’d get on well with Lowey, we’d be quite good friends, and he’ll be missed around the changing room in Leinster and Ireland. But as I said, it is an opportunity, and you just have to try and take it.”
