Munster’s Ben O’Connor delivers on Simon Easterby’s high expectations
Emerging Ireland head coach Simon Easterby was effusive in his praise for Ben O’Connor after the Munster prospect played a significant role in helping his side to overcome Airlink Pumas in the opening game of their South African tour yesterday.
Selected at full-back for their showdown with Pumas at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, the Cork native had a number of impressive moments in defence and attack as Ireland registered six tries in an eventual 36-24 victory.
Despite winning All-Ireland minor and U20 hurling championship titles with his county, O’Connor subsequently opted to pursue a career in rugby and – prior to being selected for this tour of South Africa – was a regular fixture in the number 15 jersey for the Ireland U20s earlier this year.
“He was excellent. He covered the ground well, attacked really well. Was another one of those players that stood up really well and showed up. Like we expected him to, to be honest,” Easterby remarked in a remote post-match press conference from Bloemfontein.
“Obviously his aerial skill will go a long way in this game, especially out here in South Africa. He has been excellent, so we’ve been delighted with the way he has gone about his business.”
Whereas Pumas came into this contest off the back of a Currie Cup campaign that saw them finishing sixth, this Ireland squad had a relatively limited time together before taking to the pitch in Bloemfontein.
While this presented a challenge to the visitors, Easterby stressed this is part and parcel of being a touring side and acknowledged he was thrilled with the way they conducted themselves throughout the course of the game.
“We’ve had six or seven days, but I think to a man our guys stepped up to the challenge and I think these tours are always going to be challenging.
“They’re always going to put us under pressure for the time [together], but we certainly wouldn’t look for any excuses in terms of our preparation. I thought on the whole we were outstanding and everyone showed up really well.”
Although the short turnaround will likely lead to a number of changes for his side’s clash against Western Force this Sunday – there is also a meeting with The Cheetahs pencilled in for next Wednesday – Easterby does have a couple of injuries to contend with in the wake of yesterday’s game.
Leinster winger Rob Russell was replaced by Jude Postlethwaite during the opening half, while front-row Mark Donnelly was also withdrawn at the interval.
“Mark Donnelly, at the moment, he has got ice on his ankle. He’ll have a scan on that and we’ll know more about that tomorrow. Rob came off with a hand injury. He was just struggling to get a grip and was replaced. Probably out of a matter of caution more than anything,” Easterby explained.
“That’s one again that we’ll assess in the morning and we’ll make sure that we get ahead of that when we know a little bit more.”