Tomás O’Leary Interview: Home is where the heart is for O’Leary

When Tomás O’Leary got the call from Munster asking him to end his three-year exile at London Irish and return home, he didn’t have to think too long.

“There wasn’t too much deliberation, to be honest,” he explains. “It was a no-brainer.”

The old saying is that you should never go back, but O’Leary is having none of it.

His decision is based on simple logic. To start with, he and his wife are ready to return home after three years in London. Secondly, it makes sense from a rugby point of view. O’Leary’s time at London Irish may have been enjoyable off the pitch but the club has been going through a period of transition on it, finishing ninth and 10th out of 12 in the Aviva Premiership in the last two seasons.

The lure of European Champions Cup rugby is strong for a man who won two Heineken Cups during his first spell with Munster.

Then there is the sight of the famous red kit, and the desire to represent his home province once again.

“You work for years towards that goal of pulling on the Munster jersey,” says O’Leary, veteran of 127 appearances during his first spell at Munster.

“When you get it, it’s amazing. Then, as you get more caps, I wouldn’t say you ever take it for granted but you don’t appreciate how big a deal it is.

“Now I’ve gone away, and I look at the other Munster lads who have retired and they will never get to wear that jersey again.

“This is my second chance, and I am fully aware of the magnitude and privilege of that.

“It’s a great honour to be asked back. Getting out of Ireland for a few years has been really positive, but home is home.

“It will be good to be involved at the highest level of rugby again, too.

“London Irish will get to the Champions Cup again but the squad is in transition and it might be a year or two down the line. At this stage of my career, I want to be playing at the top level.”

But the obvious question is what sort of Munster will O’Leary be returning to?

Some have seen last Saturday’s crushing Champions Cup defeat at Saracens as the end of an era, confirmation that a new reality exists for the club under Anthony Foley.

O’Leary isn’t quite so sure.

“The Champions Cup group was outrageous, landing with Clermont Auvergne and Saracens,” he said. “The Saracens performance was disappointing and the players admitted as much, but it can’t all be doom and gloom.

“I remember in 2007 we went to Llanelli and were beaten in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup (24-15). There was a lot of doom and gloom then but Munster recovered (winning the tournament the following season).

“Players came in and we performed better than in that game, so I don’t think you can read too much into a one-off performance. I wouldn’t be too worried about it.

“And from what I have heard it is the same Munster. Obviously it will be different in terms of personnel as a lot of lads who I played with back them have either retired or moved on. But there’s still the same history, still the same jersey. So hopefully not too much of a change.”

One clear change is the man at the top.

O’Leary speaks highly of both Foley and the youngsters progressing through the ranks — ‘there’s always been a good academy at Munster and it’s a tradition the next generation of players will come through — but he hasn’t asked for any reassurances over his position in the side.

The clear reason for that is the form of Conor Murray, but the World Cup will give O’Leary a chance to prove his credentials as he looks to bring the glory days back to the province.

“I am under no illusions,” he says. “Conor is the man in possession of the jersey and it is up to me to try and put him under as much pressure as possible.

“Munster is a team that is renowned worldwide. Success is the barometer and what the supporters want. Hopefully we can give them that success and keep Munster where it should be.”