No bull as O’Brien Sr misses out on Heineken Cup trip for labour of love

Leinster’s Sean O’Brien has been compared to a bull before, but he’ll have calving on his mind after today’s Heineken Cup final in Twickenham.

The Leinster back row’s father, Sean “Cas” O’Brien, looks after the cows on the family farm in Ardristan, near Tullow in Co Carlow, while the Irish flanker bulldozes through the opposition on the rugby field.

Cas had been hoping to travel to the game with the rest of the family, but a few stubborn cows went late into the calving season. Having made the mistake of travelling to England to watch Sean play while the cows were calving once before, and losing a calf, he promised never to do it again.