TWO YEARS AGO, Johnny Sexton told Andy Farrell that there was a special talent emerging at Leinster. A player that Farrell needed to keep a close eye on.
Jamie Osborne was making a big impression. The Naas man had earned his senior debut for Leinster in January 2021, coming off the bench to instant praise from the great commentator Eddie Butler. Osborne smashed one of the Scarlets players in a huge tackle.
By that stage, Ireland captain Sexton see that Osborne was destined for big things, so he told Farrell to watch out.
“This young guy, I’ve never seen a player with the feel for the game that he has,” Sexton told Farrell.
And in Leinster, Sexton was letting Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster know that Osborne was the brightest prospect they’d brought through for some time.
“This is the best guy we’ve had since Garry Ringrose,” proclaimed Sexton.
So it’s no surprise for Sexton to now have 21-year-old Osborne with him in Ireland camp as Farrell’s men prepare for the Six Nations, or to see the youngster’s name among the nominees for European player of the year.
It’s no shock for the good people of Naas RFC either. They had much earlier insight into Osborne’s potential. The excitement about his call-up to the Ireland squad alongside former Naas underage players Jimmy O’Brien and Tadhg Beirne is palpable around the club’s grounds in Forenaughts.
They speak highly of a humble, down-to-earth young man who was playing for Naas in the AIL just a couple of seasons ago and whose family is steeped in the club.
Great-grandfather, grandfather, grand-uncles, and uncles. All have been heavily involved in Naas. Jamie’s dad, Joe, played there too and is now part of Bective in Dublin. The Osbornes are also well-known within horseracing. Jamie’s cousin is Rowan Osborne, the former Munster and Leinster scrum-half who was forced to retire last year. Rowan also started off with Naas.
Jamie is the eldest of five brothers, so his dad and mum, Fiona, have spent lots of time ferrying them all to training and matches in rugby and GAA.
19-year-old Andrew is now highly regarded as a prospect too, possibly with a similar level of talent to Jamie. Indeed, Andrew has already trained with the senior Leinster team and is part of the sub-academy system while featuring in the AIL for Naas.
Younger brothers Jack, Adam and Will all play with the club too, so it truly is a family affair for the Osbornes. Jamie is leading the way and they’re seriously proud of him back in Naas.
Tom Ashe is a self-declared ‘alickadoo’ in Naas these days but has been president, chairperson, and pretty much everything else during a lifetime with the club. The 69-year-old is part of the fabric there and he’s proud to see Osborne’s continued rise.
“Jamie was always tall and lanky,” recalls Ashe. “You’d almost wonder how he would survive playing rugby but he’s after putting on an amount. The last time I was talking to him, jeez, he must be eating horse meat all the time! He has filled out.”
Indeed, Osborne looks at home with the Ireland squad this week. At 6ft 4ins and surely over 100kg, he is a big boy. He has reportedly been flying in training in Portugal, lining up at 12 or 13, and Ireland feel he is ready to step up to Test rugby if called on.
Naas coach and Leinster club community rugby officer Mick Cahill is one of those who got first eyes on Osborne. He coached him right up through the underage grades. Cahill knew very early on that there was something special with Osborne.
“I would have seen him even as a six-year-old on the GAA pitch kicking the ball and it was frightening how far this kid could kick the ball,” says Cahill.
“He had that big left foot even when he was that young. He always had talent. He played 10, 12, or 15. He had the running lines, passing skills, and kicking skills. He was always a lovely kid too, a quiet and unassuming lad.”
Osborne was part of a talented group, the majority of whom went off to bigger rugby-playing secondary schools and so had to finish up with Naas. A number of them went on to reach the Leinster Schools Senior Cup final with Newbridge in 2020, with some now back playing with Naas in the All-Ireland League.
Osborne, though, remained with the Naas through to the pro game. Being at school in Naas CBS meant he could keep playing for his club, so he came through the Leinster Youths system. That pathway is producing more and more talent for Leinster and Irish rugby now, and Osborne is a real role model for those following.
“There’s a good few players from other clubs as well and that’s down to the hard work being put in by the coaches and CCROs around the province,” says Cahill.
“A few years ago, you could tell by looking at the Youths and Schools team which was which just from the condition of the lads, the amount of training that the schools lads were getting. But that gap is closing now.”
Osborne emerged into the Naas senior team at just 18 and the excitement continued to grow.
“When you saw him there playing with Naas, he would do things that would just make you say, ‘Wow!” says Ashe.
“For a fella so young, he sees things ahead of a lot of other players and that’s one of the main things with him.”
Not that everyone enjoyed every moment of it. Jamie’s granny, Joan, would be at those AIL games and Ashe says she found it hard to watch for fear of Jamie being injured. But she was there supporting and chatting away to everyone, very much part of the club.
“She’s a little dote, so she is,” says Ashe.
Having advanced on into the pro ranks and made swift progress, Osborne has already racked up 29 Leinster appearances in total, shining most recently in the Champions Cup. He was part of the Emerging Ireland tour earlier this season, featured for Ireland A in November and is now impressing in training with Farrell’s squad in Portugal.
There are now high hopes for Andrew, who was unfortunate to suffer a thumb injury that meant he couldn’t push for a place in the Ireland U20s squad for the upcoming Six Nations. Andrew plays on the wing and Cahill, who coached him in Naas, has big praise.
“Loads of people ask me who is better but I could never say because they’re nearly like twins to some extent,” says Cahill of the similarities between the brothers.
The Osborne boys are the latest in an increasingly long line of players to emerge from Naas and advance onto big things.
Geordan Murphy and Jamie Heaslip started off with the club, as did Osborne’s current Ireland team-mates Beirne and O’Brien. The recently-retired Leinster hooker James Tracy is another Naas product, as are current Connacht players Adam Byrne, Jordan Duggan, and Diarmuid Kilgallen. Crusaders prop Oli Jager played there too.
The Ireland U20s squad this year includes current Naas scrum-half Oscar Cawley and former underage second row Diarmuid Mangan. With Andrew Osborne now promising to break through, the production line in Naas is clearly continuing to improve.
“Good coaching,” is what Ashe puts it down to. “The set-up in Naas is geared for good coaching because that’s what it’s all about. A lot of the players in the last 20 years took up coaching after they retired.
“There are more players, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more coming out of Naas.”
The young players in the club’s thriving minis and youths section have plenty of people to look up to, with Osborne chief among them.
They’ll be waiting for news in Naas. They believe that Osborne’s Ireland debut will come sooner rather than later. They’ll take delight in that achievement but they’re convinced that it will only really be the start of something greater.
“I don’t think there is a limit to his potential,” says Cahill.
“He’s only just gone 21, he’s very young and there’s plenty of time, but he’s well able for it.”
- This article was updated at 7.35am on 2 February to correct Joe Osborne’s current club from Old Wesley to Bective.
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