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O'Connell made six appearances for Leinster last season. Morgan Treacy/INPHO
Irish Abroad

Ex-Leinster prop O'Connell driven in pursuit of promotion with Bristol

The strongly-backed Championship club are benefiting from the 24-year-old’s dynamic performances.

THE ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP may not get too much attention in the wider rugby world, but Bristol are proving a consistent exception to the rule.

Just this past week, the second-tier club confirmed two more international signings in Italian back Tomasso Benvenuti and Wasps flyer Tom Varndell, continuing their remarkable recruitment of the past two years.

Majority shareholder Steve Lansdown – a billionaire who also backs Bristol City FC and the Bristol Flyers basketball team – has overseen the capture of players such as former Wales captain Ryan Jones, Samoa flanker Jack Lam, Lions-capped Dwayne Peel, and Scotland back row Ross Rennie.

Lansdown is confident that Bristol can become a Premiership and European power in the coming years and has certainly put his money where his words suggest it should go.

Amidst the array of international stars and a highly-regarded coaching staff are two young Irish players who came through the ranks at Leinster before heading to the Championship to become part of Bristol’s ambitious plans.

Wing Darren Hudson has been held back by unlucky injury issues so far, but loosehead prop Jack O’Connell is thriving under director of rugby Andy Robinson, formerly head coach of England and Scotland.

“I talked to [Leinster coach] Matt O’Connor, I talked my agent, I talked to my parents and the one thing that everyone said and thought was that there’s no point in being a rugby player if you’re not getting game time and actually playing the game,” says O’Connell of his decision to transfer to England last summer.

Jack O'Connell O'Connell was highly regarded at Leinster but a build-up of quality in his position meant limited playing chances.

“So it was really a move to try and play more rugby. Bristol – with the environment they have, the backing, ambition and vision they have – was the perfect fit for me. To get some game time, to play in a good squad and hopefully be in the Premiership next year.”

Having played for Ireland U20s in 2009 and 2010, O’Connell made his senior Leinster debut against the Ospreys in September 2011, following that up with another appearance against the Scarlets.

The expectation may have been that extensive further involvement with Leinster’s first team would follow, but among high-class competition that never transpired.

“You’ve got the likes of Jack McGrath and Cian Healy ahead of you; it’s not like they’re playing badly,” says O’Connell.

You’ve got to prove yourself at that level, and I felt, personally, that I’m better off going away, improving my game and showing that I can do it, rather than sitting and waiting for my chance.”

He may have left a top-class set up behind, but O’Connell has found the surroundings at Bristol equally to his liking. Almost 11,000 people watched the club’s recent win over Plymouth at Ashton Gate, which Bristol now share with the local football team.

Redevelopment of the stadium is underway and will result in a capacity of 27,000 within the next year.

On the turf- which O’Connell says is of equal quality to the Aviva Stadium’s – all is going swimmingly for Bristol too. They’re top of the Championship having won all 10 of their fixtures before today’s trip to Jersey, but they’ve been here before.

Last season, having budgeted for promotion into the Premiership with several high-profile signings, Bristol fell at the last hurdle, losing 48-28 to London Welsh on aggregate in the two-legged final.

That came after Bristol had topped the regular league phase of the season.

Martin Moore, Tom Sexton and Jack O'Connell 30/3/2013 O'Connell won an AIL title with Marty Moore and Lansdowne in 2013. Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO

Already signed up with Bristol and having said his goodbyes to Leinster, O’Connell watched Bristol’s defeat with his girlfriend from a pub in Tenerife.

“This year is about working out so that kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” says the prop of how Robinson’s squad have moved on.

“It really does come down to the last few games. With the likes of Dwayne Peel, Ryan Jones, David Lemi coming in, they’re extremely experienced guys and I think that will hopefully be the difference this year – a bit more understanding of what we need to do.”

O’Connell’s dynamic presence will certainly aid Bristol’s cause in those knock-out stages too, with the 24-year-old rapidly learning from the experience around him.

He name-checks Leo Cullen, “scrum guru” Mike Ross and standard-setting Shane Jennings as key influences at Leinster, but admits to enjoying a different point of view from those around him in Bristol.

You come and talk to the likes of Ryan and he’s just got slightly different ways of looking at things, little things to add on to what I’ve learned before. From the Welsh perspective, the way they defended at times with the blitz.

“It’s a different perspective and it broadens your mind to what’s out there.”

Meanwhile, the tutelage of Robinson, head coach Sean Holley [a four-time Pro12/Celtic League winner with the Ospreys], and forwards coach Danny Wilson [ex-Scarlets, Dragons and Wales U20] is driving O’Connell to further progress.

Andy Robinson 24/11/2012 Ex-England and Scotland head coach Andy Robinson is director of rugby at Bristol. Jeff J Mitchell Jeff J Mitchell

“Andy challenges you,” explains the former Clongowes student. “He likes an awkward silence, he likes you to think about the game, to come to the right conclusions by yourself, rather than just telling you what to do.

“He’s very good with individual video sessions, working on all the little aspects of the game. He’s very ambitious and it’s an ambitious club, so we’re really looking to push on.”

With a growing contingent of young Irish players in the Championship, it’s a rare weekend where O’Connell doesn’t face a compatriot on the pitch.

He enjoyed “a bit of slagging” with ex-Ireland U20 roommate Niall Annett earlier in the season, the Ulster-bred hooker now being on the books at Worcester, who are just two points behind Bristol in the league table.

Third-placed Nottingham are a full 14 points behind the Warriors, meaning it is almost certain that Bristol and Worcester will be fighting it out for promotion into next season’s Premiership when the crucial knock-out stages roll around.

Those play-offs remain some distance away, but O’Connell and Bristol will be ready when they arrive.

“We’re only halfway through the season, and at the end of the day it’s likely to come down to the last four games. In every game it’s an opportunity to try something new, to work on combinations and we’ll be ready at the end of May when those games come.”

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