We thought we had seen it all with Sean O’Brien, until we saw this.
Last night, we marvelled at a performance from the Irish openside that we deemed a perfect 10.
O’Brien was one of the main catalysts for Ireland’s superb 24-9 victory over France, on Sunday, as Ireland set up a quarter final with Argentina.
However, it was Harpin’ on Rugby, that spotted this passage of play that sums up how much of a menace The Tullow Tank can be.
The French were, no doubt, seeking revenge for O’Brien’s epic double clear-out against them earlier this year:
With the French attacking inside the Irish 22, O’Brien attempted to poach the ball back.
Bernard Le Roux and Wesley Fofana intervened to double up on the Irishman.
With Le Roux doing the bulk of the heavy lifting, O’Brien is now airborne.
However, he is not done scrapping.
The French players look to have done their job as Parra seeks to spread play to his one-off runner.
No, no, no.
O’Brien manages to get a paw out and swat the ball away from the scrum-half.
Parra picks on the bounce but his runner – Yoann Maestri – has now over-stepped due to O’Brien’s interruption. His pass is forward and Ireland get an attacking scrum out of it.
Conor Murray’s try, minutes later, then ended the contest.
Another crucial play from O’Brien at a crucial moment.
