Left-field call a visionoffuture
Jamie Osborne was known as a centre but his displays at fullback have caused a serious selection dilemma
Agroup of young Leinster supporters are standing on the side of the pitch at Gorey RFC, patiently waiting for an autograph and a selfie with one of the province’s newest stars. As we point them out and remind Jamie Osborne (22) that it’s not that long since he was in their shoes, he fondly recalls the photograph of himself and his younger brother Andrew (21), who made his Leinster debut last season, at a similar open training session. “It’s from Cill Dara in 2013, I think,” Osborne suggests.
Indeed, it’s almost 11 years to the day that the Osbornes got an upclose glimpse of their idols, which surely spurred them on even more to follow in their footsteps.
“I remember, and I’m sure Andrew does as well, we used to get so excited going to these open sessions. That picture isn’t from the only one we went to. We went to them all around the province. Getting the chance to see your heroes, especially as a young kid, is huge. You strive to be like them and I think that’s why people love those open sessions so much.”
Osborne is still getting his head around the fact that he is now one of these kids’ heroes, but after a breakthrough season that saw him play 17 games for Leinster, start the Champions Cup final and make his Ireland debut, starting both summer Tests in South Africa, the boy from Naas has come full circle.
Last week’s visit to Wexford, which included sessions in Gorey and New Ross, is part of Leo Cullen’s mission to spread the gospel of Leinster to all corners of the province.
By doing so, it also served as a reminder of the importance of the different pathways that players come through, because as Osborne has proved, Leinster isn’t just about Dublin’s big rugby schools.
Osborne emerged from the club scene, a pathway which remains a vital cog in the Leinster wheel. So by the time he got around to meeting the enthusiastic youngsters, he could see a bit of himself in them.
“I hope people don’t think that when you’re not from a south Dublin region that you have less of a chance of making it,” he says. “The likes of Tadhg [Furlong] and Ciarán [Frawley], even Seánie [O’Brien] back in the day, proved that you don’t need to be from there. I think the clubs’ pathway has definitely grown and it’s getting stronger, so hopefully people don’t feel as though they have a disadvantage being from those areas.”
Osborne’s new-found recognition has accelerated on the back of his fine performances for Ireland in South Africa last month. What made his displays all the more impressive is that Osborne played at fullback — a position he had only started in two previous games with Leinster, the last of which was in November 2022.
Being the intelligent selector he is, Andy Farrell identified Osborne as the man to replace Hugo Keenan, who was preparing for the Olympics with Ireland’s Sevens squad. As much as Farrell’s left-field call took everyone on the outside of the squad by surprise, the Ireland head coach had been quietly gearing Osborne up for the biggest test of his young career.
“When we got into camp, I started training at fullback straight away,” he says. “It was a little bit daunting at first because I felt going into it that I was very much picked because of how I played at centre. But I played fullback a lot growing up, so after a couple of sessions, it kinda comes back to you in terms of the different roles and skill-set. By the time the first game came around, I think I was OK, I was pretty confident in what I could do with the position.
“Faz [Farrell] told me I was starting on the Tuesday morning. We were just getting ready to warm up on the pitch and you see him having chats with a few lads, and then he came up to me and told me I was playing fullback. At that stage I was hopeful that I would get selected, so it probably wasn’t as much of a surprise, but the feeling was just pure excitement. [There were] a few nerves but I think that’s normal. I was mainly excited to get an opportunity to play for Ireland.”
Osborne’s chance to pull on the green jersey would have happened sooner had it not been for a couple of untimely injuries, but having benefitted hugely from an extended run in the Leinster midfield last season on the back of Garry Ringrose’s shoulder injury, Farrell backed him to deliver at Loftus Versfeld — one of the most fearsome venues in world rugby.
Unsurprisingly, the Springboks went after Osborne in the back field, and while he admits it wasn’t perfect, he visibly grew in confidence during the defeat, which led Farrell to backing him again for the memorable second Test win in Durban.
“First Test, I felt like I was probably a little bit slow to get into it. I made that error on the touchline from [Cheslin] Kolbe’s kick. It would have been nicer if that didn’t happen. After that, a couple of high ball stuff helped get me into the game. That eased the tension that I might have been feeling. I enjoyed it. I would have preferred to have stayed on longer, I picked up a bit of a knock. I was happy to get the second opportunity the following week.
“It gave me a lot of confidence, really. The second Test felt very repetitive in terms of high ball stuff, they kicked a lot of box-kicks. I think every one you catch you gain a bit more confidence. We managed to score a try off the goal-line receipt and I was happy to play a part in that. That probably gave me more confidence as well, so I was really loving it.
“That moment when the [Frawley] drop goal goes over, the elation you get from that was definitely the best I felt after a game. It was a long season, I think everyone was just so happy to finish the way we did because it would have been a tough summer had we lost and had five weeks off to just think about that. It was great that we managed to do it.”
The second Test win will forever be remembered for Frawley’s late heroics, but in time, it could also be recalled as the start of a successful international career for Osborne, who has long been mapped as a future star.
However, he faces a problem in that Keenan is now back in the mix, Ringrose is fit, as is his centre partner Robbie Henshaw. Sure, injuries are inevitable, but Osborne has done enough to feel as though he deserves to keep his place in the team. Where exactly Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber see that position will be fascinating to watch as the season unfolds, because while Osborne had looked nailed on as a midfielder going forward, his Irish cameos at fullback have given the Leinster coaches food for thought. For his part, Osborne is keeping his feet on the ground.
“I don’t think too much changes. I am happy to play any of the positions, whether it’s 12, 13 or 15. If I am playing, I am happy, really. We haven’t really chatted about it yet. Hugo was texting me a good bit while I was over in South Africa. In my opinion, he is one of, if not the, best fullback in the world. Any advice or help you can get from him means a lot. He was very helpful.”
Osborne’s job now is to force the issue and having delivered for Farrell, who is a loyal selector, the Ireland boss will have a big decision to make when his side face New Zealand in the first of four autumn Tests at the Aviva Stadium on November 8.
For Osborne, that means ensuring he gets enough regular game time with Leinster in the first part of the new season, which begins on
September 20.
“I have never experienced a trophy win with Leinster,” he adds. “The lads always talk about 2018 and the double, and how good that year was. Every year since, we have been trying to replicate that and it hasn’t worked out, so every year we don’t get it, the hunger does grow.
“Obviously everyone here wants to be involved in the biggest games, and the biggest games for us are the knock-out stages of Europe. Everyone wants to get to that stage and everyone wants to play, so we’ll see what happens. Until then I’ll just keep trying my best.”
Don’t think that when you’re not from a south Dublin region that you have less of a chance.