The last time Josh van der Flier started for Ireland, Australia were sent packing and he got a nice memento.
The man-of-the-match… pineapple(?!) was just reward for the Leinster flanker after he twice come on early in the fray to fight All Black fires. Van der Flier had a superb November Series and looked set for a run at openside off the back of fine Champions Cup and PRO12 performances for his province.
And then Joe Schmidt named his side to face Scotland and van der Flier was back on the bench.
O’Brien gets the nod because he is O’Brien and he is one of our genuine world-class players when he is on it. In fairness, he is rarely off it.
‘The Tullow Tank’ got into Schmidt’s likely Test team last week at Carton House and, once there, no-one was shifting him. Still, he is aware of the competition for his jersey.
“There is a lot of heat there, in training. I have to mind the jersey for match-day and this weekend – to do it justice – or I know there’ll be a queue of lads coming behind me, wanting it.”
As for the jilted openside, O’Brien’s advice for van der Flier was typically free of bullshit. Asked if he felt for the 23-year-old, he replied:
O’Brien: “Well, what way would you feel?”
SportsJOE: “If I was Josh, I might be a little peeved.”
O’Brien: “So he should be and if the shoe was on the other foot, I’d probably be a bit peeved. Sure that’s the way it goes and that’s life. Josh is an ultimate professional and he is a serious, serious professional. He knows what the craic is and when he gets his opportunity to shine, when he comes on, he will. That why I have to make sure I’ve to do the best job in the jersey that I can this weekend.”
“Cheers lads” and off he went.
He is minding the jersey at Murrayfield but he’ll be damned if he loosens the grip ahead of the following weekend’s trip to the Stadio Olimpico.
