IT’S BEEN A long wait for fans of Tullow’s finest rugby export.
Friday evening sees Sean O’Brien makes his eagerly-awaited first appearance of a year that promises so much for Ireland. They defend their Six Nations title from next weekend and then look towards a World Cup in September and October.
Getting O’Brien back to peak fitness and form in the coming weeks and months will be a priority for Joe Schmidt, given the 27-year-old’s world-class ability.
The first stop down that route – following two shoulder reconstructions in the last 14 months – is an appearance for the Ireland Wolfhounds against the England Saxons on Friday evening in Musgrave Park [KO 19.45].
We can safely say that the ultra-competitive O’Brien will be eyeing a start against Italy in Rome a week after this fixture, but for now, the rest of the Ireland Wolfhounds team are pleased to have O’Brien on their side.
Not that the likes of Fergus McFadden and the rest of the Leinster contingent went easy on O’Brien during his most recent spell on the sidelines.
Yeah, he couldn’t run for a while so we were getting into him, calling him the Michelin Man!” laughs McFadden when asked about O’Brien physical condition. “It was a bit of craic, but Seanie’s in great nick now and he’s been looking sharp out on the training pitch.
“He’s a massive player for Irish and Leinster rugby, so it’s great to see him back after all that trouble he had with the shoulder.”
O’Brien wears the seven shirt for the Wolfhounds in Cork against a strong Saxons side in what will be just his fifth game since December of 2013.
There was a brief return at the beginning of the current season, before the flanker was forced to go under the knife again. O’Brien will look to forget those travails with his first carry or hit against the Saxons, and McFadden underlines the quality that his teammate can bring.
“He’s shown that he’s got an X-factor in fairness, you know? Between his carries, his work rate and his chat off the field as well, he is a real leader.
I’m sure he’ll be blowing with his first 80 minutes in a long time, but he’s a massive asset to Irish rugby.”
Dan McFarland has taken charge of the Wolfhounds this week, and the Connacht forwards coach was succinct in summing up where O’Brien stands ahead of his return.
“I’ve been here all week and Sean’s had a real bounce in his step,” said McFarland. “There’s a really hungry young man wanting to get back on the pitch.”
McFarland, Schmidt and the Ireland set-up will be joined by rugby fans across the nation in welcoming the high-quality flanker back into the game in Cork. The Saxons might be best advised not to get in his way.
Well done Sir.
You are a credit to your parents and show people that though they can suffer depression that they can still manage it. Your laying it out straight. Great meas in you.
Nice one. Great to see someone like this talk about these problems
Who are the bottom feeding monkey shite who neg a comment like this?
I just gave my last comment the thumbs up….s’nice
Fair play to Alan coming out and talking about depression. A brave thing to do for such a high profile figure
@James – Regarding the thumbs down, i read a post recently where someone said they didn’t mean to ‘thumb down’ a comment, but the problem was that they were viewing the Journal on a smartphone and they would press the thumbs down by accident when they were scrolling through the comments.
At least i hope that’s the case for Emsy’s post :-)
Well done Quinny! For a player who’s nickname was cheeky and to to survive for so long in a career that’s perceived to be “macho” it’s an even bigger credit to you for speaking out. Hopefully it’ll make life easier for others to do the same.
Great stuff. Each day is an opportunity for “self help” or “self pity” the decision comes slowly to those with depression. Thankfully by talking about it people turn a huge corner and help others. Well done.
Another great sportsman hitting his depression head on, depression is of biblical proportions in this country and only now are we talking about it, the reasons why people hid it in the first place in actual fact was because they really did not know what they had…. Nothing to be ashamed of. I am 44 , ex soldier, hard as nails ( well not really) been suffering for 7 years , no meds at the moment as I have an underlying problem… But hey bad days are bad, good days are few but help is coming soon.
Well done Alan . I hope the media give it huge coverage especially in the sports pages as alot of the time they are the only pages young people read and they do need to understand more than anything else that depression is nothing to be ashamed of or fear . Sadly our graveyards are full of young men who were to afraid to seek help
Great post Jerry, well said
If Quinny saves one person from years of depression and missed positive experiences what a man he is and deserves all life can bring him keep it up lad : )
Great to see sufferers open up and talk so frankly about it. As someone who suffers from depression, I take great comfort in watching someone get it out in the open. Depression comes in many forms and at different levels of severity.
Stereotypically we think of sufferers locked away in a dark room, crying and drinking heavily, listening to Morrissey. In reality, it’s very different. Reason , logic and rational thinking are thrown out the window and instead you are bombarded with negative thoughts, that you believe. Men are much more likely to suffer as we think that looking for help is a weakness, and that we can do it by ourselves. We can’t.
The road to recovery isn’t as daunting as you may think. Pick up the phone and talk to someone.