THERE WAS A moment in Chicago last November when Stuart McCloskey nearly found Jamie Osborne with an offload that would have sent the Ireland fullback hurtling upfield into space.
On that occasion, Ardie Savea and Quinn Tupaea just about did enough to deny McCloskey a clean offload, with Savea grabbing his right arm and Tupaea reaching for the ball just as it left the Irish centre’s hand.
That moment flashed into Osborne’s mind last Saturday after he accelerated onto a clean McCloskey offload to score Ireland’s opening try in their win over Italy.
“With Stu, when he gets the ball in his hands you know he’s probably going to get his hands free,” said Osborne after the 20-13 victory.
“So I just tried to run off him and I was lucky enough to get a ball off him and score. I can’t take too much credit.
“To be fair, I didn’t expect him to throw a quarterback pass to Rob Baloucoune. So he comes out with a bit of unexpected stuff as well but he’s a joy to play with.
“And when you see him carrying forward and you’re behind him, you know you’ve got a good chance he’s going to pop the ball to you.”
It was Osborne’s third international try as he made his 12th Test appearance for Ireland, delivering one of his best performances so far.
The 24-year-old looked confident at fullback, where his most recent four starts have come in the green jersey, as he combined good aerial work with assertive counter-attacking and solid defensive work.
Watching him play with such assurance, it would have been easy to forget that Osborne came into this Six Nations with no game time for Leinster under his belt, a shoulder injury having kept him sidelined for nearly 13 weeks.
Advertisement
Osborne at the bottom of a ruck. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
“A lot of credit has to be given to the medical team at Leinster and even the week of camp in Portugal, I probably did a lot more extras around contacts and stuff than I would usually do just because I haven’t had that,” said Osborne.
“So by the time I was going into the game, I was feeling good and it’s a credit to them and the work they did.
“I felt good last week going into the game and I felt better this week again after another week of training.”
He’s only 12 caps into his Ireland career but Osborne is racking up lots of big experiences. His debut came in the famed Loftus Versfeld at altitude in Pretoria, before he scored a try in the second Test win over South Africa in Durban a week later.
He started at fullback against Wales under a closed roof in the Principality Stadium last year, scoring another try, then started on the wing at home to France a few weeks later. In November, he was back at number 15 against the All Blacks in Chicago.
And while the experience in Paris 12 days ago was ultimately one of disappointment, Osborne relished getting the chance to face les Bleus in Stade de France.
“Unbelievable,” he said of the experience.
“Their crowd is probably something that you don’t really get often in rugby, just the sheer volume and I think every little half break they get the crowd seems to erupt, so I think it was very cool.”
There’s another “hugely exciting” occasion ahead this week as Ireland visit Twickenham for what will be Osborne’s first game against the English.
“I think in any sport, Ireland versus England is a proper game,” he said, noting that England were losing to Scotland at the time of speaking.
“England at Twickenham, you’ve seen how good they’ve been recently at home, they played very well against Wales and I think they’re losing now, but they’re a team with very high confidence and we’re probably a team that is starting to build now.
“So we’re coming into it a little bit differently, but I can’t wait to get stuck into them. I think we’re building something good here.”
Osborne had an assertive game at fullback. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
The Osborne family, including Jamie’s four brothers, were all at the game against Italy on Saturday as Ireland took a step in the right direction with their improved performance.
Osborne said there is plenty they still need to sharpen up on, but it was better than the week before in Paris.
“Andy alluded to the intent factor last week and how it wasn’t really there and I think it wasn’t perfect today, but we brought a lot more intent,” said Osborne.
“We had some very nice passages to play and it might have been a wide breakdown or the last pass that we’d come undone by. But I thought it was a lot more positive anyway.
“And I know there’s a lot to work on but I think we can be pleased with the intent part of the game.
“Italy are a good side, we didn’t take them lightly at any stage. In the autumn, they obviously beat Australia, pushed South Africa, and they’d great win last week against Scotland in tough conditions.
“So I don’t think anyone should be looking at Italy now as a weaker team, I think they’re definitely right up there.”
Osborne enjoyed linking up with James Lowe and Baloucoune in the Irish back three as they formed an impactful unit last weekend.
Baloucoune’s ability to beat defenders and his sheer speed make him “a joy to play with,” while Lowe was back to his powerful best on the left wing.
As for Osborne, he’s enjoying a run of Tests at fullback. He can play a few other positions but number 15 is his favourite for the time being.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
'In any sport, Ireland versus England is a proper game'
THERE WAS A moment in Chicago last November when Stuart McCloskey nearly found Jamie Osborne with an offload that would have sent the Ireland fullback hurtling upfield into space.
On that occasion, Ardie Savea and Quinn Tupaea just about did enough to deny McCloskey a clean offload, with Savea grabbing his right arm and Tupaea reaching for the ball just as it left the Irish centre’s hand.
That moment flashed into Osborne’s mind last Saturday after he accelerated onto a clean McCloskey offload to score Ireland’s opening try in their win over Italy.
“With Stu, when he gets the ball in his hands you know he’s probably going to get his hands free,” said Osborne after the 20-13 victory.
“So I just tried to run off him and I was lucky enough to get a ball off him and score. I can’t take too much credit.
“To be fair, I didn’t expect him to throw a quarterback pass to Rob Baloucoune. So he comes out with a bit of unexpected stuff as well but he’s a joy to play with.
“And when you see him carrying forward and you’re behind him, you know you’ve got a good chance he’s going to pop the ball to you.”
It was Osborne’s third international try as he made his 12th Test appearance for Ireland, delivering one of his best performances so far.
The 24-year-old looked confident at fullback, where his most recent four starts have come in the green jersey, as he combined good aerial work with assertive counter-attacking and solid defensive work.
Watching him play with such assurance, it would have been easy to forget that Osborne came into this Six Nations with no game time for Leinster under his belt, a shoulder injury having kept him sidelined for nearly 13 weeks.
“A lot of credit has to be given to the medical team at Leinster and even the week of camp in Portugal, I probably did a lot more extras around contacts and stuff than I would usually do just because I haven’t had that,” said Osborne.
“So by the time I was going into the game, I was feeling good and it’s a credit to them and the work they did.
“I felt good last week going into the game and I felt better this week again after another week of training.”
He’s only 12 caps into his Ireland career but Osborne is racking up lots of big experiences. His debut came in the famed Loftus Versfeld at altitude in Pretoria, before he scored a try in the second Test win over South Africa in Durban a week later.
He started at fullback against Wales under a closed roof in the Principality Stadium last year, scoring another try, then started on the wing at home to France a few weeks later. In November, he was back at number 15 against the All Blacks in Chicago.
And while the experience in Paris 12 days ago was ultimately one of disappointment, Osborne relished getting the chance to face les Bleus in Stade de France.
“Unbelievable,” he said of the experience.
“Their crowd is probably something that you don’t really get often in rugby, just the sheer volume and I think every little half break they get the crowd seems to erupt, so I think it was very cool.”
There’s another “hugely exciting” occasion ahead this week as Ireland visit Twickenham for what will be Osborne’s first game against the English.
“I think in any sport, Ireland versus England is a proper game,” he said, noting that England were losing to Scotland at the time of speaking.
“England at Twickenham, you’ve seen how good they’ve been recently at home, they played very well against Wales and I think they’re losing now, but they’re a team with very high confidence and we’re probably a team that is starting to build now.
“So we’re coming into it a little bit differently, but I can’t wait to get stuck into them. I think we’re building something good here.”
The Osborne family, including Jamie’s four brothers, were all at the game against Italy on Saturday as Ireland took a step in the right direction with their improved performance.
Osborne said there is plenty they still need to sharpen up on, but it was better than the week before in Paris.
“Andy alluded to the intent factor last week and how it wasn’t really there and I think it wasn’t perfect today, but we brought a lot more intent,” said Osborne.
“We had some very nice passages to play and it might have been a wide breakdown or the last pass that we’d come undone by. But I thought it was a lot more positive anyway.
“And I know there’s a lot to work on but I think we can be pleased with the intent part of the game.
“Italy are a good side, we didn’t take them lightly at any stage. In the autumn, they obviously beat Australia, pushed South Africa, and they’d great win last week against Scotland in tough conditions.
“So I don’t think anyone should be looking at Italy now as a weaker team, I think they’re definitely right up there.”
Osborne enjoyed linking up with James Lowe and Baloucoune in the Irish back three as they formed an impactful unit last weekend.
Baloucoune’s ability to beat defenders and his sheer speed make him “a joy to play with,” while Lowe was back to his powerful best on the left wing.
As for Osborne, he’s enjoying a run of Tests at fullback. He can play a few other positions but number 15 is his favourite for the time being.
“While I’m playing fullback, I’ll say fullback!”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
England Ireland Jamie Osborne Rivals Twickenham