NAAS MAN JAMIE OSBORNE LOOKING TO MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME
United Rugby Championship
By Daire Walsh
Following a lengthy absence, Jamie Osborne was pleased to make a return to competitive action against Hollywoodbets Sharks at the RDS last Saturday.
Owing to a knee injury, the Naas native’s most recent cap for Leinster before then had been against Edinburgh in a 47-27 United Rugby Championship victory at DAM Health Stadium on March 4 of this year. Although he did feature in pre-season friendly encounters with Munster, Ulster and Castres, this was Osborne’s first full-blooded outing in a little under eight months.
Leinster had kick-started their new URC campaign with a defeat away to Glasgow Warriors six days earlier, but Liam Turner was the preferred centre partner to Charlie Ngatai on that occasion. Osborne was subsequently selected in the number 13 jersey for the aforementioned visit of The Sharks and completed the full 80 minutes as the Blues ran out 34-13 winners in their first home game of the term.
“I think it was last March against Edinburgh, my last competitive game. Delighted to be back out and enjoyed it. I think with all the South African teams, they’re going to be all big, physical and you probably have to manage the middle of the pitch. Manage giving them access into our ‘22’,” Osborne acknowledged about his belated return to the competitive fold.
“I thought we did that well and we were up at the break. Probably started the second half a bit slow, but then we got going a bit I think. We did well, we scored some nice tries.”
The timing of Osborne’s injury last spring was unfortunate for a couple of reasons. In addition to missing out on the tail end of Leinster’s URC and Heineken Champions Cup campaigns – both of which ended in crushing reversals to Munster and La Rochelle at the Aviva Stadium – a lack of game time made it more difficult for him to force his way into Andy Farrell’s plans for the Rugby World Cup in France.
Though he remains uncapped at senior international level, Osborne did spend a week in the Irish camp as a development player for the Autumn Nations Series of 2021 and went on to play for Ireland ‘A’ against an All Blacks XV at the RDS in November 2022. Further recognition followed for the former Naas CBS student as he was part of Farrell’s 37-man selection for this year’s successful Six Nations odyssey.
An extended spell on the sidelines was a major set-back for Osborne, but he nevertheless was included in a 42-strong training squad that assembled in advance of the World Cup at the IRFU High Performance Centre on June 18.
He remained in the international camp for a number of weeks, before he was released along with Caolin Blade (Connacht), Kieran Treadwell (Ulster), Calvin Nash and Gavin Coombes (both Munster) in the days that preceded a warm-up showdown with England at the Aviva on August 19.
Nevertheless, having said that he wouldn’t have picked him in the Six Nations squad if he didn’t take he was capable of starting a game, Farrell clearly feels Osborne is a player with immense potential. While he was largely unaware that the Wigan man had spoken about him in those terms, Osborne believes his experience of being part of the Ireland set-up will stand him in good stead moving forward.
“I actually didn’t really know he said that, to be honest. When we went into camp first, we all had one-on-ones with Andy and he spoke to us. I suppose from then, you know what he’s looking for and you know that he probably has confidence in you.
“I was just trying to do my best in training, learn from the lads like Garry [Ringrose], Bundee [Aki], Robbie [Henshaw] and Stu [McCloskey], and hopefully force my way in to get a few opportunities. Obviously that didn’t end up happening, but I learned a lot and really enjoyed the experience.
“I picked up an injury in the first week [of the World Cup training camp] and didn’t really train until the Portugal week. So I missed a good chunk of the pre-season and then I kind of felt I was on the backfoot then. I didn’t really think I would be in with too much of a chance after that.”
Now back in provincial mode and at his optimum level of fitness after a good pre-season, Osborne will be hoping to push on with Leinster over the next months with a view to possibly making it back into the Ireland squad for next year’s Six Nations Championship.
Whereas it wasn’t so long ago that he was a member of the eastern province’s Academy and eagerly awaiting a breakthrough into the senior squad, this is now where a younger member of his clan finds himself at the beginning of the 2023/24 season. Andrew Osborne featured in the final two rounds of Ireland’s magnificent Grand Slam triumph in the U20s Six Nations earlier this year – scoring the opening try in their rout of Scotland at Scotstoun Stadium on March 10.
Moving into the summer, he started all five games as Richie Murphy’s underage side made it all the way to the World Rugby U20 Championship decider.
He may have to keep patience with competition proving fierce within the Leinster senior squad in his preferred position of winger, but Jamie is enjoying being in the same environment as his sibling.
“He’s been in, it’s good. I’m living with him as well. I’m enjoying it, I think he’s enjoying it too. All the lads are training away at the moment, so I think hopefully at some stage we can get to play together,” Osborne added.