RUGBY ITALY V IRELAND:HE'S AN unlikely media darling; the arching scar above his left eye, the abrasions, the cuts on his face and an indifference verging on distain for his current celebrity makes Seán O'Brien a reluctant hero.
A healthy cynicism about his serial man-of-the-match performances at club level and the few jibes from his team-mates of “Rocky O’Brien” has ensured the Leinster number eight would be Ireland bound but also, you feel, Co Carlow by the grace of god. From the farmer’s boy you get a refreshing lack of horse manure.
“There’s a few of them throwing in that there,” he says of the Rocky Elsom reference, “but I wouldn’t be listening to it.”
Nor did Jamie Heaslip, whose place O’Brien now holds. Last season they were also comparing Heaslip with the Australian captain. O’Brien knows it and can draw perspective from the lionising of his team-mate. Still a serial offender in winning man-of-the-match awards brings its own attention.
“I got a bit of stick over it, alright. The lads were giving me a bit of hassle but you know, I can live with it, yeah.”
Off-field there is as much to admire in O’Brien. There’s the unadorned self-belief sitting side by side with modesty and immense natural ability, driven by an almost genetic need to work hard and then harder.
Last November, O’Brien was off Declan Kidney’s radar. He might have interpreted the coach’s lack of interest as a snub. But that’s not his nature. His pride is more robust. Tomorrow that will also be challenged when he faces Italian number right Sergio Parisse.
“I sat down with the coaches and we went through what I could improve on at the time and I brought that in when I got back playing with Leinster,” he says.
“The little things are what I’ve been working on. Around the breakdown and the lineout being another option. Stuff like that. You just have to be patient. I’ve said this before.
“I didn’t want to let it affect my training at the time. I just kept the head down and kept doing what I was doing. Obviously you are disappointed when you are not picked. I wouldn’t say I felt left out because I was still involved, still training there. It wasn’t as if I wasn’t in the squad. It’s just a thing you have to get on with, one of those decisions you have to go along with the coach and row in behind him.”
O’Brien understands Heaslip would be wearing the shirt but for his injured ankle and the injured Stephen Ferris would play at six. From an almost closed shop, the Ireland backrow exploded last month. Against Parisse, O’Brien can at least run a rule over his game, which is measured, perhaps excessively, by his carrying and yardage. When he played against Samoa last year, the dynamic running wasn’t there.
“He (Parisse) obviously is a world-class number eight. He’s everything, really,” says O’Brien. “He’s a good lineout operator. He’s fast. He’s good feet, strong. It will certainly be a good test of where I am coming up against him at the weekend. As I said earlier, I just can’t wait to get out there.
“I think that day (against Samoa) was never going to be a flash game. Looking back on the game, I didn’t think I had a bad game. It was just a battle. It wasn’t very open or anything. I wasn’t making line breaks or anything like that. It was never going to be that type of game. If things were different then, I could have got another shout if it had been more open a game. I suppose I’ve a point to prove now coming into this one.”
It will be a battle again, at least for the first 20 minutes; a perky Italian side with a physical reputation and hopes against a patched up Irish team, with even higher hopes. The Coliseum might have been a better venue.
“The lads . . . I don’t know when they are going to be back,” says O’Brien, rising. “But they’ll be back some time and it’s up to me this weekend.”
