RUGBY UNION
HE’S A TANK COMMANDER
BY DAIRE WALSH
AS one of the players linked with the Ireland captaincy, Leinster flanker Sean O’Brien admitted yesterday it would be a huge honour to lead out his country in the Six Nations.
But with his mind firmly placed on provincial duty, he claimed he hasn’t considered the prospect of replacing Paul O’Connell in the pivotal role.
The Tullow Tank, 28, said: “It would be something you would embrace, a huge honour if you were asked to do it. I have not actually thought that much about it.”
O’Brien did captain Ireland against Scotland in a World Cup warm-up test at the Aviva Stadium last August but, in terms of the way he prepared for that game, he didn’t notice any major difference to his normal routine.
He added: “Nothing really changes. I have always said that. The captain is just a word beside your name on your day. You just have to keep doing what you are doing. I don’t see it as a burden or anything on you.”
Yet, O’Brien does accept that the Irish captain has a massive role to play on and off field – which is something that he felt O’Connell and Brian O’Driscoll epitomised during their spells as team leaders.
He said: “You want someone who is going to be one of the leading players on and off the field.
“You want someone who can influence things by what he does, what he stands for, how he leads the group, drive a key message during the week, keeping his standards to be the best he can be. When you look at previous captains like Paulie and Brian, that was what they did. They were the ultimate professionals.
“And whatever they said they backed it up by doing the business on the field.”
Before he can focus on his return to the international set-up, O’Brien is expected to regain his place in Leinster’s starting line-up for their Champions Cup fixture against Wasps at the Ricoh Arena this Saturday.
With four consecutive victories in all competitions under their belt, flanker O’Brien believes that the Blues have turned a corner ahead of a tough assignment with their cross-channel counterparts.
He said: “We want to make sure we do ourselves justice, not like the last time we played them.
“And we have turned a corner in terms of the fact we have been playing a lot better in recent weeks.
“We want to maintain what we have done and then do things a little bit better. We have made it hard for ourselves in the last 20 minutes of games, as we did at the weekend. But the younger lads who have come in, they have done a great job.”