Border battle no bother for Leinster’s O’Brien

IT REMAINS to be seen whether Sean O’Brien starts against Munster this Saturday but, either way, the young Leinster flanker has ample experience of being on the front line in this particular battle.

O’Brien is from Carlow, one of those counties that hugs the border between the two provinces, where the sight of a Munster jersey is as much of an occurrence, if not more so, than that of its Leinster counterpart.

An example of that split was evident next door in Mountrath, Co Laois last April when the sides were meeting in Croke Park. One petrol station flew a Leinster flag while its competitor 100 yards down the road flew several of the Munster persuasion.