THIS WEEK WILL have a very different feel to it for the 30-strong group of Leinster players currently on tour in South Africa.

For the first time since he took charge back in 2015, head coach Leo Cullen isn’t there to guide the squad through the week as they prepare for Saturday’s meeting with the Bulls, the final regular-season fixture of Leinster’s URC campaign.

Instead, contact skills coach Sean O’Brien has been handed the reins with Cullen returning to Dublin following last weekend’s impressive defeat of the Lions to focus on the Champions Cup semi-final date with Toulouse on 29 April.

For O’Brien, it’s a chance to show how much he has grown as a coach over this season, his first on the Leinster coaching ticket. To some degree, the pressure is off with top spot in the league table already secured but O’Brien doesn’t want his week in charge to end with Leinster losing their unbeaten run – the province having won 16 and drawn one of their 17 URC fixtures to date.

O'Brien returned to Leinster last summer. Evan Treacy / INPHO Evan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

With Stuart Lancaster, Andrew Goodman and Robin McBryde also back in Dublin, O’Brien is leading the group alongside elite player development office Aaron Dundon and academy manager Simon Broughton.

“It’s been good. A good experience, you’re seeing it week in, week out,” says O’Brien.

“Hopefully you just don’t want to make a mess of it! The lads have been great, we’ve acclimatised well out here. Looking forward to the week.

“It definitely consumes your mind a little bit more, for sure, but what I have seen Leo do every week and the rest of the coaches… You have seen it first-hand and it is about not messing it up and acting on it then this week.

“I found it good, the first two days have been very good. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a big training day for us and we get that out of the way and it is the bulk of the work done.

Definitely more hours go in, watching more footage, trying to be more organised when you are running the week.

“Aaron and Simon have been brilliant as well around me. They have been so well prepared in their respective units, the transition has been good this week.”

O’Brien returned to Leinster after retiring at the end of last season following three years with London Irish. And while it’s his first major coaching job, the former Leinster and Ireland flanker displayed an interest in coaching throughout his playing career.

“It (first coaching job) probably would have been Clontarf U20s. When I joined them I helped them for a season, that was probably the first proper coaching that I done at a good level. I was always involved with Tullow but that was at junior level.

I have always enjoyed it though. I have always enjoyed helping people develop and seeing stuff you have seen and done during the week coming off in a game. It is just a natural fit for me and something I get on well with.

“It’s been great having the likes of Leo, Stu, Goody and Robin here with so much knowledge and experience to learn off.”

O’Brien has impressed in his role as Leinster’s coaching team continues to evolve. With Andrew Goodman replacing Felipe Contepomi as attack coach last summer, next season will see Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber take over from Racing-bound senior coach Stuart Lancaster.

“It’s a brilliant appointment,” O’Brien says of Nienaber.

“From my own point of view, learning how he works from that ‘D’ side of things. We haven’t really had a South African influence at Leinster so it’ll be good to have a new voice, new ideas; his experience at the top level.

“I’m looking forward to meeting him, chewing the fat with him and seeing what plans he has.”

While most of Leinster’s internationals are training away back in Dublin, a young Leinster group pulled off a remarkable defeat of the Lions last Saturday, led by 20-year-old Sam Prendergast on his senior debut.

“He’s definitely comfortable at that level, he’s a confident young fellah,” O’Brien continues.

There’s lots of areas in his game to develop, he needs to develop physically but in terms of his game-knowledge and the way he runs the team you can see the potential he has.

“It’s great that he’s getting the opportunities now, in the environment he’s learning off Johnny (Sexton), Ross (Byrne) and the more experienced lads ahead of him.

“And that’s what it’s about for him, getting more minutes, getting more game time, keep the experience side of it. Every minute he gets on the pitch is going to stand to him. So, yeah, he’s been great out here, as have all the younger lads. There’ll be more of them who’ll probably get an opportunity this weekend.

“It’s a great opportunity for the younger guys, an opportunity for the more senior guys to put their hands up and rock back in next week with a bit of confidence, for competition with that group that’s left at home.

“It’s keeping that standard very high this week at training, the guys have responded really well; good review this morning from the Lions game, a lot of learnings and training was good today.

“The lads are excited to keep going, ready to rock.”

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