‘He’s been immense’ – Seán O’Brien continuing to thrive in his first season with Munster

The stats alone will tell you that, as O’Brien started his 13th game in last weekend’s crucial bonus-point win over Ulster to go with his five other appearances off the bench.

O’Brien’s durability coupled with versatility has meant that Graham Rowntree has regularly relied on the Westmeath native, whether that’s been on the wing or in the centre.

So while Munster were impacted by various injuries to their back-line, O’Brien has remained a consistent performer since he joined from Exeter last summer.

Prior to his arrival in Limerick, the 26-year-old had spent two seasons with Connacht, and having built up a good bank of experience, he is primed to play his part in Munster’s URC run-in, starting with the defending champions’ quarter-final against the Ospreys at Thomond Park on Friday night.

“Obviously the lads won the whole thing last year, so we know what this group is capable of,” said O’Brien, who praised the impact of Munster’s bench in the second half of the season.

“It is something like 39 points out of the last 40 or 44 out of 45, so we know we are a good team, but that does not mean anything unless we go out and perform every week but the belief in there is sky high, we know what we can do.

“It is just about the quality we are able to bring off the bench like with the depth of the squad we have. It is massive.

“They come on and just give energy to the lads who are already on the pitch. You know they are going to come on and start getting the ball rolling a bit, everyone gets a lift from that and it brings the whole 15 up together.

“Rugby is a lot about momentum. It is a game about going forward, so when we are going forward and we are scoring tries and have a dominant scrum like we did [against Ulster], you can feel you are on top and it does give you the confidence to keep pushing on. It’s just a confidence thing really.”

Today's Sports News in 90 Seconds - 4th June

Munster head coach Graham Rowntree has been delighted with O’Brien’s impact in his first season with the province, as he hailed the character shown by his unfortunate midfield partner Rory Scannell, who was stretchered off last Saturday with a nasty looking ankle injury that will require surgery next week.

“He’s been immense,” Rowntree said of O’Brien.

“He’s played on the wing for us, it’s good to get him in the centre. He played really well against the Lions, the second game in South Africa, a good rugby player. He’s a settling influence around the group, [he has] responded well to what Mikey’s [Prendergast, attack coach] asked him to do in attack. I can’t speak highly enough about him.

“That combination, Rory has been good for us as well. He was disappointed in South Africa, [he] never dropped his lip at all. A real club man. Rory Scannell is a proper Munster man, got on with it. Putting them together [against Ulster], there was no doubt about selecting them this week, no doubt.”

With Alex Nankivell sidelined with an ankle injury, O’Brien is likely to play alongside the fit-again Antoine Frisch against the Ospreys on Friday.