SEAN O’BRIEN HAS denied allegations of misbehaviour within the Ireland camp during the Rugby World Cup.
In the recent leaked documents reviewing England’s World Cup fiasco, an unnamed player alleged Ireland’s behaviour was just as bad as the England team.
The player claimed that “Ireland had been in there [the Altitude Bar in Queenstown] and were much worse, but I think they might have taken the press with them”.
Nonetheless, in addition to the IRFU dismissing these allegations, O’Brien denied any wrongdoing, making a sardonic reference to some of the England players’ more unusual antics in the process.
Speaking at the Federation of Irish Sport’s pre-budget submission, as quoted in today’s Irish Daily Star (print edition), O’Brien said:
“I can assure you there was no dwarf-throwing on our part, none of that craic. We were having a good time together, but no one got out of hand, no one did anything wrong.”
O’Brien also indicated he believed there was no harm in players enjoying themselves on occasion, and related to his own experiences as coach of Tullow RFC, where he encourages his players to “have a bit of craic together” after a positive result:
“You can certainly see the change the next week in training. Lads are happy, they’re relaxed, they’re focused again. People need that every now and again.”
O’Brien was named Ireland’s Player of the Tournament at the World Cup, as they reached the quarter finals, before exiting the competition following a loss to Wales.
