Tomás O’Leary won’t give up on Ireland recall

It was 16 years or so ago when word emerged from Christian Brothers, Cork that an exceptional talent was about to burst on the Munster rugby scene.

Tomás O’Leary was a son of Seanie, one of the many brilliant Cork hurlers of the time, and on the threshold himself of winning minor All-Ireland medals in 2000/01.

By then, though, his scorching pace and natural instincts marked him out as an exceptional scrum-half on the rugby field, and within a short few years he was helping Munster to win their second Heineken Cup and become the Irish number nine, with 24 caps to his credit. A broken ankle sustained in a game against Scarlets at Musgrave Park cost him a place on the Lions tour of South Africa in 2009 and he subsequently struggled for his Munster and Ireland place against Peter Stringer and later Conor Murray.

So three years ago it made sense to accept an offer to try his luck with London Irish in the English Premiership, and a new life in London.

“I had a few fantastic years in London... different experience, different lifestyle, something new that gave me a chance to step back from the rugby,” he says.

“We struggled as a team, second and third-last over the three seasons I was there. It gave me a different perspective from playing with a Munster team that was a winner and contesting semi- finals and finals.

“Living in London also gave me a chance to explore other avenues of the lifestyle. I’ve just launched my watch company that I was working on for the last while and also got involved in a recruitment company (see page 7).

“When I left initially, I wasn’t thinking about coming back. But I guess when I was watching the big European games and the lads playing against Leinster and stuff, it made me sit up and think: ‘Jeez, I’d love to be there,’ and made me appreciate how special Munster is. And in the last year of my contract, I was definitely considering it.

“My agent felt out Munster and then obviously I had a chat with Garrett (Fitzgerald) and Axel (head coach Anthony Foley).”

Tomas displayed against Ulster, and then against Connacht, that he still has plenty to offer at the age of 32 with the current heavy schedule guaranteeing plenty of game-time.

“Our sole focus is on this weekend at the Dragons,” he insists. “We weren’t happy with how we went last weekend and we want to put that right. So whoever gets picked against the Dragons can’t afford to have one eye towards Leicester a week later.

“Like I said, I’m happy I’m back and quite happy with my own form. The more games I get, the better I’m going to get and enjoying it. When I went away, I wasn’t really enjoying it and was putting too much pressure on myself. Whether I’m on the bench to Conor or starting, I want to play and try and express myself as best I can. So far so good and I’m really happy with how I’m going.”

O’Leary faces an uphill task to convince Joe Schmidt he is worthy of consideration for a renewal of his international career in the new year but that doesn’t mean he has given up hope, far from it.

“Potentially yes. I’d love it,” he stressed. “But I guess my main job here is to put as much pressure on Conor as possible. If I can even make the coaches start thinking about who they should be selecting at nine, then I might get into the shake-up for the green jersey again. If I can express myself down here, then you’d never know, they might end up picking two Munster scrum-halves at some stage.

“You look at Redser (Eoin Reddan) and Bossy (Isaac Boss), they’re both 35 or something.

“I’m 32 so there’s scope for a player of my vintage for a few more years. Touch wood I can go for another few years because I am really enjoying it at the moment, I think I have a lot more to offer Munster and Irish rugby.”

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