9 hours Ago
IT’S NOT THAT long ago that Ireland fans stressed about what would happen if Hugo Keenan was struck down by injury. It wasn’t just Keenan’s reliable excellence at fullback that made it so, but rather the lack of an obvious second-in-line for the number 15 shirt. Jimmy O’Brien appeared to have filled that slot in the Irish depth chart, making three starts at fullback for Ireland in 2022 and 2023 before he had an impressive impact off the bench on the wing in the World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand.
And yet, the versatile O’Brien hasn’t played at all for Ireland since that day in 2023. Injuries haven’t helped him to further his case but while the Kildare man has been back in wider squads, including the one for this Six Nations, he hasn’t been in matchday plans. The expectation had been that O’Brien would come in at number 15 for last summer’s Tests against the Springboks, which Keenan missed after deciding to have a crack at the Olympics with the Ireland 7s.
But Andy Farrell sprung a big surprise by picking Jamie Osborne for his debut in the first Test in South Africa despite the Naas man not having played there for Leinster at all in the 2023/24 season. Osborne had been impressing in midfield for his province but Ireland asked him to revert to what had been his main position as a youngster. 6ft 4ins Osborne did well on his try-scoring debut before limping off in the second half, so he retained his place a week later after his injury cleared.
He shone in that second Test win over the Springboks, dealing with an aerial bombardment and showing his physicality. Last November, the left-footed Osborne impressed off the bench in midfield against New Zealand and Argentina before he again slotted into the starting XV at fullback for the win over Fiji. He began that game strongly but was forced off injury after just 27 minutes.
Ireland have been encouraged by what Osborne has done in his first five caps and though he would have been disappointed not to feature in the opening two games of this championship, the 23-year-old gets his Six Nations debut against Wales this afternoon. In the end, it’s no surprise that Osborne has been picked at fullback, where he lined out for Leinster against the Ospreys last weekend during the Six Nations fallow week. And while Wales’ poor form is a big factor in this, it’s notable that there hasn’t been anything made of Keenan rotating out of the team.
“We need to keep growing our depth and experience,” said Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby of the decision to start Osborne. “Hugo’s done an unbelievable job for a long period playing in that 15 role. What he brings to the team is that bit of calm and that bit of accuracy.
“But Jamie did a brilliant job in the summer in South Africa, so we know he’s got those qualities as well. “Until you get a situation where you’re..
. what we don’t want is to be forced into a decision on a player because we don’t know a lot about them. “This is a great opportunity for Jamie.
He’s building his experiences up across the last couple of years with the team. We’re excited about him challenging Hugo in that position. “He can play more than one position but at the moment we see him as a 15 and a genuine option for us.
” And that’s a key point – Ireland hope Osborne puts their decision-making on selection at fullback a huge headache. It has seemed clear for a while that Osborne has the qualities and further potential to genuinely challenge one of Ireland’s incumbent starters whether at fullback or in midfield. Watching Osborne shine at fullback in South Africa last summer must have been a strange experience for Keenan.
You could have forgiven him if he briefly worried that he’d made the wrong call to vacate the number 15 shirt temporarily. And you could understand if Keenan was frustrated not to be in it again this weekend as Ireland look to keep their Grand Slam bid going. But Easterby said Keenan accepted this decision like the good team player he is.
“The players are easy to chat to on those types of things,” he said. “They understand the rationale behind selection and Hugo is no different. “He obviously wants to play as many minutes as he can.
We need to make sure that certain players get managed a little bit as well and we look after them. When Hugo plays, he plays really hard and he doesn’t let up. “He usually plays 80 minutes as well so I think, for Hugo in particular, it’s an opportunity for him to focus on his body and make sure that he’s fully fresh coming into the last couple of weeks of the Six Nations, but there’s also the support that he’ll give to Jamie and the other guys in the back three.
” Osborne will be aiming to make future calls on the 15 shirt more difficult than ever..
