Gavan Casey
TOMMY O’BRIEN is a self-professed “NFL nerd”, although he’s not a Chicago Bears fan.
“The Raiders, for my sins,” says a sheepish O’Brien, whose Las Vegas-based chosen team sits 2-5 for the season after a 31-0 defeat to their divisional rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs, last Sunday.
“They’re pretty useless and the Bears seem to be on the comeback, but unfortunately, there’s no games while we’re here.”
There is not much to learn this year from the Raiders’ struggling offensive stars; indeed, the likes of Ashton Jeanty might be well advised to consume some Tommy O’Brien footage instead.
But Leinster and Ireland’s 27-year-old wing still studies the movements of gridiron athletes every Sunday, always watching for something that he might be able to add to his own bag of tricks. Some are easier to replicate on a rugby pitch than others.
“I love watching RedZone,” says O’Brien. “My dad loves sending me stuff: sidesteps and jukes, stuff like that.”
“He sent me the clip of Saquon Barkley’s reverse hurdle a couple of times last year,” adds the Dubliner, who was himself a Leinster 110-metre hurdles champion at schools level.
“I don’t know how that’s going to be implemented,” O’Brien laughs. “I don’t know how that will go down. I think that’s an easy penalty and I’m probably landing on my head!
“But some of the stuff they can do is pretty incredible with their cutting ability. I definitely love watching that stuff and seeing what little bits and pieces you can pick up.”
SAQUON BARKLEY IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
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— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
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Growing up, however, O’Brien took his rugby inspiration from even further afield, geographically.
A centre for Blackrock College — you might recall O’Brien even made his senior Leinster debut at 13 against Ulster six years ago — O’Brien had a grá for New Zealand midfield duo Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith.
He broadly modelled his game on that of the latter. Indeed, he continues to find inspiration in Smith’s approach to their craft even seven years after the Kiwi’s retirement.
“He wasn’t the biggest guy but he just worked so hard. He was always in the right position,” O’Brien says of 94-cap All Black Smith.
“I read an article recently enough, he was talking about the way he got in so many squads: he made himself someone that was almost impossible to drop. The coaches loved him because he just did everything right, so that’s something that I try and do. I try and listen to everything that’s being said and try to implement the gameplan to the best of my ability.”
Part of O’Brien’s appeal to a head coach like Andy Farrell, of course, is his all-court ability. The Leinster man is a wing with a centre’s playmaking instinct; his north-south speed is rare in Irish rugby but his distribution — even with his feet, as he displayed against Ulster back in April — is probably second only to Mack Hansen among Ireland’s right-wing options. O’Brien is equally renowned for his defence, an area of his game in which he plays far bigger than his six-foot, 92kg frame.
tommy-obrien-after-the-game-with-his-first-capTommy O'Brien with his first Ireland cap in Tbilisi. Ben Brady / INPHOBen Brady / INPHO / INPHO
The beginning of this November camp has made for O’Brien’s first exposure to Farrell and vice versa — O’Brien was previously called into Ireland’s panel for the first time by Simon Easterby and earned his first two Test caps under Paul O’Connell.
And while he has yet to physically train under Farrell’s watch, O’Brien is relishing the opportunity to prove himself a universally capable back when Ireland take to the grass on Monday.
“From a wing perspective, I guess, I’m just obviously getting my head around everything and making sure — but I like to be someone that tries to get involved,” he says.
They (the Irish coaches) kind of talk about almost ‘positionless players’, so everyone has the ability to do each other’s roles, and so that you don’t have to be hanging out in your wing the whole time.
“You have to license to roam. You can hang out at the back of shapes.
“All the discussions would be about backs as a whole rather than back three and things like that. Obviously, there are certain skills that you need to be at your best at for certain roles, but everyone is definitely trying to learn off each other how, if you find yourself in [the other player's] position, you can do it to the best of your ability.
“Defensively”, O’Brien adds, “that’s something I’d pride myself on and he (Farrell) obviously has a big background in, so that’s just about learning the art of the system and making sure I can implement that as well as I possibly can.”
caolin-blade-tommy-obrien-and-tom-ahernTommy O'Brien (middle) in Dublin Airport with Caolin Blade and Tom Ahern. Morgan Treacy / INPHOMorgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
O’Brien had only just started college when Ireland first toppled the All Blacks in Chicago in November 2016. He enjoyed it over a tipple in Gleeson’s with a load of his friends — including Jack Ringrose, whose older brother Garry was on the bench for Ireland that day but had to wait another week for his Test debut against Canada.
O’Brien was already a senior Leinster player when he attended Ireland’s 2021 victory over the All Blacks at the Aviva Stadium, or the one “when Caelan scored”, as he recalls it.
He has vivid memories of each game, he says, but O’Brien remembers something else, too: the feeling of envy.
“Honestly, deep down there was an element where you wanted to get out on the pitch yourself, so you were a little bit jealous. So, to potentially get that opportunity coming up would be pretty awesome.”
With Mack Hansen recovering from injury back in Galway, O’Brien is the prime contender to start on Ireland’s right wing against New Zealand next Saturday.
That O’Brien’s own career has been so plagued by persistent hamstring issues — including a tear at the start of last season — has forced him to adjust his perspective on the game he loves. At 27, he reckons, he’s unlikely to be fazed by the size of the task at Soldier Field and more likely to embrace it as an opportunity to live the dream he had in Gleeson’s as a teenager.
“Obviously, it’s something that you’ve been working your whole life towards,” O’Brien says. “Like, this is this is kind of the pinnacle, playing these kind of games.
“But yeah, it probably is something I’ve managed over the last six months. I would have gotten very, very nervous before games, but maybe in the last six or eight months, I probably came close with injuries thinking, ‘Oh, jeez, is this going to last for me? Is this going to work out?’
“So everything after that, I’ve felt it’s a bit of a bonus. Just give it a lash, and that seems to be working out pretty well so far.”