BY ANY MEASURE, it’s been a good year for Jamie Osborne. The versatile Leinster back is in his second season with the province’s senior squad, building on six caps in the 2020/21 campaign with a further 11 appearances this season, including nine starts.

Across those games Osborne has moved smoothly between fullback and the two centre positions, his obvious potential rewarded with a first senior deal, which he signed last month.

Things have perhaps moved a little quicker than Osborne himself might have expected this season, the rescheduling of covid-postponed games during international windows opening up more opportunites to line out for the province than initially anticipated.

“I suppose at the start of the season, we didn’t have many fixtures planned during the Six Nations block,” Osborne says, speaking from Leinster’s Cape Town base in South Africa ahead of Saturday’s URC meeting with the Stormers.

“So to get five or six games in that block was great and now the South African trip as well has been good. I can’t complain. It has been good.”

Good might be an understatement. Osborne, who came through the ranks at Naas RFC, has already caught the eye further afield, with Andy Farrell calling him into the Ireland squad as a development player during the Autumn international window.

Osborne trained with Ireland during the Autumn Test window. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

“It was great to be in camp for a week in the autumn. It was a great experience to train along all the lads from around the country. At the moment, I’m probably just focused on playing well for Leinster, trying to keep playing as much as I can here. And then we’ll see what happens with other stuff. At the moment, the full focus in on Leinster.

“We had feedback after (Ireland) camp and stuff but I haven’t had much contact (with Andy Farrell) since.

I think it’s just about understanding that the higher up you go, the less time you have on the ball. There’s a bit more pressure on you so it’s about being ready for that and just upping your skill level a bit, everything you do to get better decision-making.”

The 20-year-old has also coped well with the physical side of playing senior rugby, and shown an ability to make good decisions in pressure situations, and Leinster’s current two-game tour of South Africa offers Osborne another perfect opportunity to showcase his talents in a challenging environment. 

He played the full 80 minutes of last Saturday’s defeat to the Sharks in Durban, and is expected to feature again against the Stormers this weekend, a fixture that pits first against second in Cape Town. 

It hasn’t all been hard work either, the squad taking in a fishing trip earlier in the week and heading out to visit Robben Island yesterday.

“It’s good. As a group, it’s just good to be around each other all the time and getting closer together,” Osborne continues.

“Obviously we knew how tough it was going to be to play here. The atmosphere was really good in Durban and the humidity played a factor in the first-half (against the Sharks), where we were probably blowing a bit at times.

“The second-half was a bit slower but then the rain came which made things difficult as well, the ball was quite slippy. We need to learn that you’re not always going to be able to play the kind of rugby you want. And you need to be able to win that way.”

“They’re (the Stormers) a great attacking side, they have plenty of threats all over the pitch, especially in their back three. We’ll have to be defensively on it all game and it will be a tough test.”

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