IT WAS A decision that he mulled over for quite some time, but as he prepares himself for a competitive debut for the Ireland U20s in Aix-en-Provence, Ben O’Connor is satisfied he made the right call in choosing rugby rather than hurling as his main sporting pursuit.

A member of the St Finbarr’s club, O’Connor shone brightly in the underage ranks of Cork hurling – winning All-Ireland minor and U20 championship titles with the Rebel County in 2021 and 2023 respectively.

However, he showcased his talent with an oval ball during this period as he helped Presentation Brothers College to defeat Cork rivals Christian Brothers College in last year’s Munster Schools Senior Cup decider.

He also lined out for Munster and Ireland at U19 level and while he appeared on course to have a bright future at the senior grade with the Cork hurlers, he opted to join the Munster Academy in the wake of that All-Ireland U20 showpiece triumph at the expense of Offaly.

It has certainly paid off to date for O’Connor, who has been named at full-back for Ireland’s Six Nations U20s opener away to France tomorrow night.

“It was a very tough decision [between rugby and hurling]. It took me a long time, of course, to make the decision, but since I was a kid, I always wanted to be a professional athlete. I went with rugby and I’m delighted I picked rugby,” O’Connor explained.

“The dream is just hopefully starting now and I get to kick on with it. I’m buzzing for it now. The last few weeks have been building up massively towards it. Around the group there is a lot of energy. It will be a tough battle on Saturday.”

Despite being one of the newcomers to this age grade – just five players in the current set-up were part of the squad that secured a second consecutive Six Nations Grand Slam last year – O’Connor does come into tomorrow’s game with experience of playing in the professional ranks of club rugby. In addition to appearing off the bench against Dragons and Ulster in the United Rugby Championship, he also enjoyed run outs in Munster’s back-to-back European Champions Cup encounters with Bayonne and Exeter Chiefs in December.

While he didn’t expect to be given first-team opportunities at such an early point in his career with the southern province, his exposure thus far under senior head coach Graham Rowntree has given him the motivation to push on his game even further.

“I didn’t think I would have gotten the caps this early, but delighted with the caps and I just need to keep on driving forward after them and try to get more. Once you get a taste of it, you just want more.

“The experience was unbelievable for me to learn more and the lads in Munster are so good for helping you out and teaching you. The players, the coaching staff. Just playing against players at that level would give me a lot of confidence going into the game on Saturday.”

Whereas his Munster and Ireland colleagues Brian Gleeson and Evan O’Connell look towards the likes of Peter O’Mahony for inspiration, O’Connor is naturally drawn to those who fill the back-three positions in Munster. Luckily for the 19-year-old, there are a number of past and present Irish internationals within the provincial system that he can seek out for guidance.

“All the back-three players have been very good for me from the get-go when I came in. They’ve just taught me a lot, especially [Simon] Zebo, Calvin [Nash], Shane [Daly], Mike Haley and when Andrew Conway was still in during the summer.

“He was very good for my high ball skills. I did a good bit with him. They’ve so much experience in the game that I love learning off them and just try to put it into my own game.”

Just before the Ireland U20s get underway against France in Stade Maurice David tomorrow, the high-profile friendly between Munster and Super Rugby outfit Crusaders will have reached a conclusion at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. This is the kind of game that O’Connor would love to have been involved in and, having already featured at the home of Cork GAA in a different sporting code, he is hopeful of doing so again in the red of his current employers.

“I’d love to play there with Munster some time. It’d be like playing at home, I played there a good few times. There’ll be a very good atmosphere at it [on Saturday] and it will be an unbelievable game,” O’Connor added.

Daire Walsh