Advertisement
O'Brien: has "great respect" for the work that Carlow put in. Lorraine O'Sullivan/INPHO
helping hand

'Mental stuff' and 'little triggers': Sean O'Brien explains his work with the Carlow footballers

The Leinster and Ireland rugby star has been working with Anthony Rainbow’s panel while he’s out injured.

SEAN O’BRIEN HOPES his mind games will help build a winning culture for Carlow’s footballers.

The Leinster and Ireland rugby star, who is missing the Six Nations through injury, was spotted on the sideline during the O’Byrne Cup.

And “The Tullow Tank” has revealed how he approached manager Anthony Rainbow with an offer to help while he recovers from shoulder surgery.

“I go down every couple of weeks when they’re training,” O’Brien explained.

“I do a little bit of mental stuff with them, give them little triggers in training and whatnot.

“It has been going well. They’ve reacted to it well and they’re a bit more professional about how they’re doing things down there as players.”

Carlow had their first league win of the season on Sunday when they came from six points down late on to beat Antrim in Division 4.

The result was a welcome boost just four days after Carlow’s U21s were walloped by Dublin and O’Brien wants to help breed confidence among the county’s best youngsters.

“There’s a lot of younger lads in there as well and that was probably the main reason why I rang and asked to get involved.

“I think the culture down there in the last few years was pretty poor and I thought now that there’s a batch of young lads in there they might change it.”

“I’ve a great respect for how much training they do,” he added. “For a small county, they really do train very hard. It’s a big commitment on their part.”

Snapshot: Ciaran Kilkenny set for cruciate recovery with teammate Kevin O’Brien