Whole new ball game for O’Leary’s Croker return
Not that big time sporting success is anything new for this family given that Seanie, the man of the house, boasts four All-Ireland senior hurling medals and Tomás himself skippered the Cork minors to All-Ireland glory in 2001.
Even then, though, the youngster was deliberating on his future, whether to stick with hurling or give precedence to rugby and he duly came down in favour of the latter when offered a place on the Munster Development squad in 2003.
He had distinguished himself as a brilliant schoolboy at CBC, his blistering pace singling him out as a player of massive promise whether playing anywhere in the backline. There was one question mark, and it was his apparent inability to get the ball away from the base of scrum and ruck with speed and accuracy.
This shortcoming, combined of course with the presence at Munster of a certain Peter Stringer, held him back for a year or two. But he was learning all the time, the pass became slicker and the pace and combative powers remained as profound as ever. All further doubts were dispelled when O’Leary came up trumps when thrust into the final three matches of last season’s successful Heineken Cup campaign.
O’Leary arrived at yesterday’s team announcement in the Castletroy Park hotel in Limerick cosseted by coach Declan Kidney and captain Brian O’Driscoll.
He revealed that he still hadn’t informed his parents of the news, said all the right things in reply to an assortment of questions and soon as the conference finished, he was out the door with the kind of speed and sidestep synonymous with what he does best on the rugby pitch.
“I played in Croke Park in 2001 as a minor but the stadium has changed a lot in the meantime,” he said. “They were just developing it at the time and it will be great to run out there now in an Irish jersey. I did come on the wing in Argentina a couple of years ago, when Andrew Trimble got injured and I was the last man on the bench, and got five minutes at the end.
“I’ve been a professional for four or five years now; I’ve been working hard to improve my game, and I think I’ve done that. It’s only in the last year that I’ve begun to reap most of those benefits. I’m continuing to work hard and hopefully will get more rewards in the future. There’s no better stadium or no greater team to play against than the All Blacks when you’re getting your first start. It’s the biggest test you could want.
“It’s always nice when a coach has faith in you. But Deccie has 30 or 40 players here and has faith in all of them so it’s nice to get the nod this week-end. I’m not going to read too much into any selection and just concentrate on the game on Saturday and on my performance. That’s the main thing I’ll be thinking of over the next few days. It’s Saturday and it’s the All Blacks.”
It is ancient history now how Kidney prefers not to discuss individuals or indeed to take any personal credit for the improvement of players in his care. Where O’Leary’s development is concerned, he praises the like of former Scotland scrum-half Greg Oliver, currently head coach at Garryowen, and also Dave O’Mahony, Alan Gaffney and Tony McGahan.
“Tomás has learned things along the way and has had all the ups and downs that every professional player will have in the course of his career,” said Kidney.
“He has many good attributes. Again, it’s a big occasion for him and I don’t think I’d be loading those on him four days before a match. He has played well, he’s keeping out some exceptionally good players.
“It was rough last evening talking to guys who are very good players and telling them they weren’t getting a start in a game that everybody was looking forward to playing in. Obviously, I think highly of Tomás but that’s as far as I’ll go right now.”
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