As Ireland were creating history in Chicago with their first ever victory over the All Blacks, Sean O’Brien was on a flight back from Italy.
O’Brien was part of the Leinster team that had beaten Zebre 33-10 in the PRO12 encounter on Saturday, and managed to watch the first-half of Ireland’s game against New Zealand in Chicago on a laptop in the airport.
However, he and his teammates were flying home as Ireland took to the field for the second-half at Soldiers Field, and therefore unable to stay in touch with the game.
“We got to the airport in Zebre and we got the first half, well, nearly all the first half and then we were on the plane,” O’Brien said on Tuesday afternoon, as Ireland prepare to play Canada on Saturday.
“I kept popping up to the pilot and asking him to check the score. He did, eventually. We didn’t see any of the second half. We were pretty wrecked after the game over there anyway. So maybe it was a good thing.”
The 29-year-old admitted experiencing mixed feelings following the result. O’Brien was naturally delighted his Ireland teammates secured the 40-29 win, but understandably disappointed not to be part of the squad.
He also said that he didn’t completely agree with Joe Schmidt’s decision to omit him from the trip, but in hindsight admitted the extra game time with Leinster will be beneficial as he prepares to play his first game for Ireland since February.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t say I completely agreed with it, but that’s the call that they made,” O’Brien said.
“I did need more game time, but you always back yourself if called upon to do a good job. Looking at it now, I’m probably better off getting more game time like I did at the weekend and being introduced back in this week.”
And while Saturday’s opponents Canada won’t pose Ireland a challenge on the scale of New Zealand, O’Brien isn’t taking the game lightly.
“It’s a huge game. It’s a huge game for everyone. Younger guys, the likes of Pete (O’Mahony) with a lot of caps. It’s another international game. You can be damn sure Canada – they’ve been here a week already in Johnstown House – they’ll be preparing to come and beat us.
“We’ve to treat it like any test match this week. Once you’ve been away from the setup for a long time, pulling on an Irish jersey is going to mean a lot this weekend. So, that’s what we’re looking forward to.”
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