O’Brien excited by Carbery return as World Cup focus begins to sharpen

Jimmy O’Brien is looking forward to seeing the impact Joey Carbery can make for Leinster this season after the Athy man returned to the province ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

Now 30, Carbery left Leinster in 2018 to sign for Munster and, after six years at Thomond Park, moved to France for a two-year stint with Bordeaux but is now back with his home province.

Carbery’s injury struggles have been well documented, but O’Brien believes he still has plenty to offer.

“I came up just behind him but I would have known him a bit. Kildare’s not too big so we would have half known each other.

“Then we played at Leinster and Ireland a bit. When I made my debut he would have been in there.

“He’s been back running and stuff so hopefully he’ll be back fit soon. He’s a great addition, a great player. I always loved playing with him. Obviously it’s been a while now but I always enjoyed that,” said O’Brien, who believes the Leinster squad will be keen to tap into Carbery’s experience in France.

“I haven’t had a chance to sit down and have that kind of conversation with him yet but I’m sure everyone will be asking him how they work out, how they train, how they play, stuff like that,” he said.

Carbery’s arrival bolsters the Kildare connection at Leinster and, with the county’s presence stronger than ever in the international set-up, O’Brien is delighted to play a role in helping rugby grow in the county.

“There’s loads of Kildare lads now. Even in the academy, there’s loads of Newbridge lads. Before, it would have been maybe one every six years. When I was coming in, there was Jamie Heaslip and James Tracey and myself. Then Sam (Prendergast) and Diarmuid (Mangan) came in.

“It’s definitely getting better now. The population in Kildare is huge. We’ve been underachieving for years so I think it’ll only be good for us,” said O’Brien.

The Eadestown man was speaking last week at the launch of Canterbury’s new Ireland 2026/27 kit as part of the company’s ‘Made Tougher Together’ campaign and, even now, 13 months out from the World Cup, that tournament is very much on the minds of those in the Irish camp.

O’Brien appeared as a substitute in Ireland’s 2023 World Cup quarter-final and looked well placed for a long international career, but a succession of injuries stalled his progress.

The latter stages of the 2025/26 season, however, saw him rediscover his best form. While he did not make the 23-man squad for either the Champions Cup final or the URC final, he produced enough impressive performances to catch Andy Farrell’s eye and finished the campaign by featuring in all three of Ireland’s summer fixtures against Australia, Japan and New Zealand in the Nations Championship.

“It was very good for me,” he said.

“I got back in and started three games, and I was delighted with that. Going over there, I wasn’t really sure how much game-time I was going to get, so I was delighted to start the three.

“I’m hoping to use it as a springboard. Definitely try and get back in and hopefully play well in the games I’m selected for Leinster. Hopefully get back in for the autumn and hold on to that spot,” said the 29-year-old.

Knowing in his own mind that he is, touch wood, over his injury troubles has given him the confidence to play some of his best rugby in years.

“I felt I was playing well last season. I thought I was playing a bit freer, with less thinking. I felt in the years before I had those hamstring injuries lingering around.

“Even when I was playing, I wasn’t 100 per cent. I just felt very good going into the end of last season. I took my time rehabbing, got back fully fit and just felt good.” 

Ireland’s players are now facing into a long season that could stretch into October and November next year, should Farrell’s side make a deep run at the World Cup. The tournament will be a target for every player with ambitions of making the squad, but O’Brien insists it cannot become an all-consuming focus with so much rugby still to be played for Leinster and Ireland before then.

“This season, we talked a bit about the World Cup being at the end of it.

“Obviously, at the start of the season, you think about it, then you have to try and bring yourself back to playing well for Leinster. That would get you into the autumn and playing well in the internationals. It’s definitely in people’s minds.

“The best part of my career is going to a World Cup. That’s the kind of stuff you dream of when you’re growing up.

“If you go back, probably a year before a World Cup happened, I didn’t think I had any chance. I did well that season and got in.

“Definitely, when you are going through injuries, you tell yourself, ‘I played at that level and I know I can get back there’.”

 He has already proven himself at the highest level and, if injuries finally leave him alone, there is every reason to believe he can do so again.