Sean O’Brien can clearly remember Jamie Heaslip’s Leinster debut.
2005 and the Heaslip was lining out for Ospreys in the Celtic League. O’Brien was involved in the province’s underage set-up and was in awe of the man.
Nine years on, in 2014, O’Brien told me:
“I went to a lot of Leinster’s games at Donnybrook, and remember standing behind the goal, in the terraces, watching Jamie warm up.
“I think it was his first cap. The size of him! He was twice as big as he is now – he had a little bit of weight on him.”
Heaslip settled into the Leinster first team right enough and was making his Ireland debut, against Pacific Islands, a year later. He would be Ireland’s 1,000th capped Test player and, over 12 seasons, would go on to play 100 international Test matches and win a rake of trophies for province and country.
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The sporting world has been reacting to the news of Heaslip’s retirement since he announced it on Monday morning and while many notables have passed lovely comment, O’Brien’s tribute is perhaps the most fitting of all.
O’Brien wrote:
‘What a legacy this fella has left behind him, and whatever life throws at him in the future no doubt he will do the same! Set a standard for Leinster and Irish rugby that all of us tried to follow.
‘One of the smartest and professional players I’ve had the pleasure to play along side of! Made some incredible memory’s together and some great stories that we can laugh about it years to come.
‘He will be missed and a true legend of this game! #8 #oneofthegreatest’
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The two men have been through many tough battles, for Leinster, Ireland and the Lions.
Their last game together was in Cardiff, against Wales, the scene of Heaslip’s Grand Slam triumph with his country in 2009. O’Brien will hope to build on Heaslip’s legacy in the coming weeks as he targets a return from a hip injury he picked up in December.
