If you want something done, ask a busy person. Benjamin Franklin’s words would resonate with Seán O’Brien, director of rugby at Tullow RFC, a player too periodically, lining out in the backrow and in the first match of the season against Suttonians, at outhalf. He pops home on Tuesday and Thursday nights to oversee training.
And then there is the day job, ostensibly the contact skills coach with Leinster. But since the start of the season, he’s added the responsibility of overseeing defence in the hiatus between Stuart Lancaster’s departure and Jacques Nienaber’s arrival. Not that he’s complaining, he enjoys a full diary.
“I don’t sleep that much actually, five or six hours a night. Then the farm is busy as well. That keeps me going as well. I’m very busy at the minute, but it’s good. I’ve always been busy; I don’t like sitting still for too long.”
O’Brien embraced the extra responsibility and is enjoying the challenge. “When Leo [Cullen] said it to me a while ago, I wanted to put my own stamp on it. I have had one or two small conversations with Jacques.
“But again, he’ll put his own stamp on it when he arrives in what he sees fit [in terms of a system]. He just sent a text after the last game [the win over Edinburgh], ‘great effort and energy, the D was good’. Other than that it has been very limited conversations until he gets over.”
The main tenet of the Leinster defence under O’Brien is that he’s encouraged the players “to bring a bit more line speed, in terms of my own system. When we have the opportunity, but we are definitely not defending like the Springboks do. That’s been made clear to the lads, I’ve spelt that out.
“Whether we do that or not when Jacques comes in is a different story because our defensive system in general has been really good over the last few years and we have scrambled really well and worked really hard.
“That will be his own thing, whatever stamp he wants to put on it, but I’m sure he’ll marry up some of the stuff that is already in place, some of the fundamentals of our ‘D’, with some new stuff that he wants to introduce. We have a very smart and experienced group of players so hopefully they get with it pretty quickly.”
Cullen previously spoke about how the former Springbok World Cup-winning head coach would bring fresh eyes and ideas to Leinster. O’Brien pointed out: “Even going back as far as Cheiks [Michael Cheika] and Joe [Schmidt], we’ve had the Aussie and the Kiwi and then the English side of things with Stu [Lancaster].
“Now we have a South African coming in [with] a very different way of thinking about the game, I presume. The amount of experience he has and what he has achieved over the last few years, has been phenomenal. You would be a fool not to have your ears open and have conversations about every aspect of the game.”
O’Brien is content with the progress that he’s made in the transition from player to coach. He knows that he has to be patient but at the same time aware that the environment in which he currently operates will assist in that development and his ambition to get better.
“It’s a funny one because when Jacques comes in, I will go back to [coaching] the contact and breakdown. In a way, I will have to sit behind Jacques and the other coaches in terms of going to the next level because the progression for me would be a full defensive role at some point.
“I still have to learn my trade. I am a year and a half into coaching at this level, so I am aware of that. I [have] great conversations with Goodie [Andrew Goodman] on the attack side as well. I like doing both sides of the ball. It is just learning at the minute for me, from the coaches around me and from the lads coming back from [Ireland] camp and the bits and pieces they would have learned.
“It’s a lot of hours, I will say that. You know that as a player but when you are part of it you see how much goes into it from all angles. It’s been very enjoyable.”
All of Leinster’s Ireland World Cup contingent are back in training and several will play against the Dragons at Rodney Parade on Sunday (1.15) with still more returning for the game against the Scarlets at the RDS the following weekend.
John McKee’s hamstring injury requires further assessment to ascertain his availability for the weekend after missing the last two matches while prop Michael Milne (shoulder) is edging closer to a return to competitive rugby.
