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Sean O'Brien would have stayed at Leinster for just £112k a year

By Ian Cameron
Sean O'Brien om the charge against Toulouse

Sean O’Brien would have stayed at Leinster for just £112k a year, the Irish flanker has suggested.

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In a wide ranging interview with Peter O’Reilly in Sunday Times, O’Brien admits his reluctance to leave his his home province and the club he has played all his professioanl rugby with.

As first reported RugbyPass in February, the Carlow born backrow will join London Irish on a three-year deal, on a reported salary of £450k, as they look to re-establish themselves in the Premiership in 2019/20.

However, O’Brien comments suggest he wanted to stay at Leinster and would have done for a fraction of the what he will be paid at the London based club.

‘If I was offered a quarter of the money I’m getting going to London Irish to here, I would have stayed. That was the case, but I’m going to grab the opportunity with both hands, obviously, and do whatever I can over there.’

This suggests that whatever was on the table from the IRFU and Leinster, if an offer was made, was less than £112,000 per annum (€131,000).

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‘Would I say now that I’d be bitter? No, I’m not bitter because I get the business decision,’ he said. ‘While I mightn’t agree with them, I still get them. That’s life.’

O’Brien’s final years at Leinster have been dogged by numerous injuries, with the flanker making just 22 appearances in the last three seasons.

The 32 year old is one of Leinster’s most decorated players, having come through the Leinster Academy system and having played 122 times for Leinster since his debut in September 2008 against the Cardiff Blues.

In his time at Leinster he was part of the PRO12 winning squads in 2008, 2013 and 2014 as well as the Guinness PRO14 win last season.

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He has four Heineken Champions Cup medals, starting in the Heineken Cup Finals of 2011 and 2012, and also a Challenge Cup medal in 2013.

Off the back of these impressive performances in the blue of Leinster, he was named European Player of the Year in 2011.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

41 Go to comments
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