O’Brien buoyed for breakdown battle

First things first: Sean O’Brien’s dodgy ankle isn’t so dodgy anymore.

The Ireland flanker rolled the offending joint during the captain’s run the day before Leinster’s Heineken Cup meeting with Castres last month, but it was the morning after the game when it flared up and the alarm bells started ringing.

The well-being of Jonathan Sexton, Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell have all been dissected in considerable detail this week, but O’Brien’s status merits equal billing, given he was the form Irish player this season until injury intervened.