LAST UPDATE | 7 Oct 2022
SEAN O’BRIEN’S signing for Naas RFC will lead to heightened interest in the AIL, yet a question remains over how often he’ll be able to line out for the Division 1B club due to his coaching role with Leinster.
The former Ireland back row’s signing for the Forenaughts side was a subject of discussion on today’s free episode of Rugby Weekly. The42 members have access to in-depth rugby podcasts featuring Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey of the The42, and Bernard Jackman and Eoin Toolan, on Mondays and Wednesdays.
“It’s fantastic for the AIL,” Kinsella said. “I would guess people are going to flock to these games far more readily. Forenaughts in Naas is going to be jam-packed whenever he’s making his debut, and the away games are going to be fixtures of real excitement. I was talking to someone who coaches in 1B and he said the WhatsApp groups are absolutely hopping with this news. And it will just be fascinating to see and hear how he gets on.”
O’Brien retired from professional rugby at the end of last season with London Irish and has since moved back to Ireland to take up a role as Leinster’s contact skills coach.
The 35-year-old had hoped to join home club Tullow and play junior rugby, but was denied that chance when his application to feature in the Towns Cup and Leinster League was rejected by Leinster Rugby’s domestic committee. He has now signed for Naas, some 37 miles up the N81 from Tullow.
“He’s definitely slowed down with injuries but he’s such a force of nature that there’s still great athleticism there, he’s such a savvy, clever player with so much leadership and obviously those coaching traits now,” Kinsella said. “Johne Murphy ,the Naas coach, mentioned how much he’ll impart on others. I can only imagine, in and around the club, how much the kids in Naas are excited.”
Kinsella added: “He’s always maintained that he loved club rugby and wanted to be part of it and was frustrated that it wasn’t given the kudos it deserved and he’s put his actions where his mouth was and now he’s going to do it out on the pitch and it’s fantastic for the AIL.”
A question from The42 member’s WhatsApp group was posed about how many games O’Brien would actually play, considering his coaching commitments at Leinster?
“Given that we saw him in the coaching box the last day with Leinster, I’d imagine that will be the preference,” Kinsella said.
“That role wasn’t previously the matchday one when Denis Leamy was there but now Sean O’Brien is certainly being pushed into a more prominent role. He was alongside Leo Cullen, he was involved in those discussions during the game. Even on the training pitch it sounds like he has got a lot more responsibility.
“I can only imagine that that’s priority number one, and yeah there may be clashes there but with Friday night games or whatever you would hope to see plenty of him in Naas colours.”
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