Sean O’Brien’s three-year deal boosts Leinster

There was no fluttering of eyelids to foreign suitors this time.

Or, if there was, then Sean O’Brien did it far more discreetly than two years ago when he was a guest of Toulon’s at their Heineken Cup clash against Cardiff in Nice. The news yesterday confirmed that the flanker has penned a new three-year deal with the IRFU to keep him at Leinster.

It’s a rare slice of good news for the province in the wake of their historically early Champions Cup elimination at the weekend with defeat to, as it happens, Toulon in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium chalking up their fourth successive loss in the tournament.

The announcement followed just hours after the news that Kiwi centre Ben Te’o would be leaving the province for Worcester Warriors in England.

Good timing, that. For the player, as well as the club, given he has missed the last five weeks with a combination of concussion and inner ear problems.

Now 28, the back row has suffered a succession of debilitating injuries in recent seasons and the decision to remain in Ireland, where his workload will be managed far more sympathetically than in the trenches of the Top 14 or England, is a no-brainer for the player.

The hope is that he can put together an injury-free run of games for club and country as his form had dipped the past couple of seasons before a World Cup campaign in which he shone before being suspended for the quarter-final defeat to Argentina.

Leinster are positive about his chances of returning for Sunday’s PRO12 trip to Limerick where Munster await and they will know today if Cian Healy is in a position to join him as the loosehead prop will face an appeal hearing in an attempt to overturn a two-week suspension.

O’Brien’s fellow Ireland international was cited over a clash with Toulon hooker Guilhem Guirado during the Champions Cup match at Stade Felix Mayol two weekend’s ago, for which he was sent to the sinbin by referee Nigel Owens.

A subsequent charge of striking with the knee was not proven, but the player was suspended under another ruling which prompted Leinster to appeal on the basis that due process was not followed and he was cleared temporarily to come off the bench against Toulon last Saturday.