Jimmy O'Brien staking his claim for European Final

Eadestown’s Jimmy O’Brien has said he is doing his utmost ‘to stake a claim to play in the big games’ as Leinster once again look to challenge for top honours on two fronts in the coming weeks.

This Saturday at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Leinster will embark on their latest bid for a fifth European top-tier title when they take on defending champions Bordeaux Bègles in the Investec Champions Cup final. This was the venue for the eastern province’s most recent success in Europe back in 2018 – at which point O’Brien was a member of the Leinster Academy in addition to being an Ireland Sevens international.

Since then, Leinster have lost no fewer than four Champions Cup deciders with O’Brien featuring from the start in their back-to-back defeats to La Rochelle in 2022 and 2023. The former Newbridge College student later appeared off the bench when Leinster overcame Northampton Saints in a European semi-final at Croke Park in May 2024, before missing out on the match day 23 for their subsequent showpiece reversal against Toulouse at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

He has featured on four occasions in this season’s Champions Cup, but wasn’t included for knockout round wins over Sale Sharks and Toulon. It is difficult to break into the starting line-up when competition is so fierce, but O’Brien is trying to do everything in his power to impress Leo Cullen and his fellow Leinster coaches.

“Every time I’m playing, I’m trying to stake a claim to play in the big games. There’s a lot of good games coming up, so the Champions Cup next week and then the quarter-final [of the United Rugby Championship]. We’ll see after that and hopefully we get through,” O’Brien said.

“There’s big games for the end of the season, I just want to be playing in them. The best way to do that is to perform well, so they can’t leave you out.”

Since finding himself watching on from the stands as Leinster edged out Toulon in the last-four of the Champions Cup on May 2, O’Brien has been handed a brace of chances to impress in the United Rugby Championship. After rounding out the Blues’ 31-7 victory over the Lions at the same venue seven days earlier with a last-gasp try, he also crossed the wash when Leinster finished their URC regular season campaign by recording an emphatic 68-14 success over Ospreys at the Aviva.

As well as wanting to make the cut for the Champions Cup final, O’Brien will be eager to play his part in the coming weeks as Leinster seek to defend their URC title. The 29-year-old had a major role in their journey to league glory last season as he played the full 80 minutes in all three of the eastern province’s knockout fixtures – including a URC Grand Final triumph over the Bulls at Croke Park on June 14 of last year.

“Last year I was lucky enough. I was wing for the first game and then full-back for the semi-final and final. It was brilliant to get that run and play in those big games. That final was a very special day in Croke Park. It was one of the best performances I’ve been involved in for a Leinster game for a good few years. We really performed well on that day in that final. It was brilliant to be part of.”

Despite making 16 appearances for Leinster in the current term – scoring a total of six tries – O’Brien has endured injury frustration in recent months. Owing to hamstring issues,he was ruled out for a number of games either side of starting in a European Champions Cup pool stage victory away to Top 14 outfit Bayonne on January 17. This ensured that he missed out on Andy Farrell’s initial 37-strong Ireland squad for this spring’s Six Nations and it wasn’t until Leinster made the trip to face Cardiff in the United Rugby Championship on February 27 that he returned to competitive fare.

“I had a hammy at the start of the year. I pushed hard to get back before Six Nations for that Bayonne game. Got back maybe a week early and then played that, and then it just kind of twinged again in a different spot. So that was incredibly frustrating as I thought I got back in that game,” O’Brien recalled.

“Everyone has injuries and no one is going to go through their whole career plain sailing. So it was frustrating to get that second hamstring. Probably couldn’t get a run of form and then got back in the middle of Six Nations. It was one game and then a couple of weeks off. I’m delighted now at the moment, I’m playing a decent amount and trying to put a bit of form together.”

While he didn’t see game time in the end, O’Brien was eventually called into the Ireland camp for the closing two rounds of the Six Nations Championship – which ended with Andy Farrell’s men collecting their fourth Triple Crown in the space of five years.

Having made two appearances against Georgia and Portugal last summer before also featuring against Japan in the Quilter Nations Series last November, O’Brien was pleased to be back within the international set-up once again.

Ireland have three overseas encounters with Australia, Japan and New Zealand to look forward to in the inaugural Nations Championship this coming July and O’Brien is hopeful a good run of form at the business end of Leinster’s season can keep him in the frame for selection.

“I was delighted when they did call me in for those two weeks. It was just good craic going back in. With the lads and around the coaches, it’s always good. You don’t want them forgetting about you. Hopefully I can put a few games together now towards the end of the season and hopefully get selected for the summer tour,” O’Brien added.