Big hitters raising the stakes but Sean O’Brien won’t change style

Sean O’Brien has banked his fair share of injuries in seven years as a professional, but the Ireland flanker has declared himself to be relatively unconcerned about the increasing levels of physicality which underpin modern rugby at the top level.

Concussion has long assumed the status as the game’s hottest of topics but the brutally physical nature of Ireland’s opening two Six Nations games, against Italy and France, has raised even wider questions about where rugby is headed.

The stitches and bruising on the faces of Johnny Sexton and Mathieu Bastareaud last Saturday captured that debate perfectly, with the French centre’s tendency to lead with the head and/or forearm an example of the dangers involved.