O’Brien ‘in a really good spot’ after maiden European start
He has had his fair share of frustration with injuries in the recent past, but Leinster’s Tommy O’Brien is now ‘feeling in a really good spot’ after finally making his first European start in the Aviva Stadium last Friday.
After previously making four appearances off the bench for the province in the competition, Dublin native O’Brien was given the nod on the right-wing when Glasgow Warriors paid a visit to Lansdowne Road six days ago for a European Champions Cup quarter-final.
Had it not been for a number of significant spells on the sidelines – he has suffered injuries to his knee, ankle and hamstring within the last three years – a starting opportunity in the Champions Cup might have come his way a lot sooner.
Yet four consecutive outings in the United Rugby Championship helped to put O’Brien in the frame for selection and he marked the occasion by bagging a first-half try in a convincing 52-0 win over Glasgow.
“I am feeling in a really good spot. I have five or six games on the bounce and I think your body just adjusts to rugby. Your first one [back] you are always unbelievably sore and your body is like ‘what the hell are you doing to me.’ That’s probably when you are most likely to pick up little injuries, in the first few games or training sessions back,” O’Brien acknowledged at a Leinster media briefing earlier this week.
“My body is getting battle-hardened and it’s just a knowledge within myself of knowing when I can push it and really open up, and when I feel a bit stiff and sore and need to box smarter.”
Although he didn’t graduate from their Academy until the summer of 2020, O’Brien made his Leinster senior debut at outside centre in a relentless 54-42 victory over Ulster at the RDS in the Pro14 back on December 20, 2019.
The former Blackrock College student is set to face the same interprovincial opposition in the Aviva this Saturday in the United Rugby Championship.
While Leinster didn’t concede a single point in either of their last two games – knockout European clashes with Harlequins and Glasgow – the Blues’ defence could come under scrutiny from an Ulster side that have amassed a combined tally of 133 points across their last four competitive games.
This included a 31-point haul in a Champions Cup Round of 16 defeat away to Bordeaux-Begles last Sunday week and O’Brien is expecting the resolve of Leinster, who are currently eight points clear at the URC summit, to be severely tested at Irish Rugby HQ.
“I feel like they have turned a corner in the last few weeks, when they had a great comeback win against the Stormers. They went very well against Bordeaux, scored some great tries,” O’Brien added.
“They have a good few guys who have just come back from injury, especially in the backline. So their backs are humming again. They look like they are enjoying their rugby again and it will be a big test.”