O'Brien: As soon as my agent said 'Munster' my ears perked up

DECENT ADDITION: Munster's Sean O'Brien. Pic: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

Sean O’Brien will be itching for the chance of a return to Exeter Chiefs this weekend, where the centre spent two happy seasons before returning home to Ireland by signing for Munster.

O’Brien, who has yet to start in his preferred position for Graham Rowntree, starting four times on the wing in his maiden campaign for the URC champions, is delighted to be back on Irish soil and reunited with 2018 Ireland U20 team-mates Diarmuid Barron, Jack Daly and Jack O’Sullivan.

Yet the former Connacht back from Mullingar has no regrets and only good memories of his time at Sandy Park having joined the Chiefs in the summer of 2021.

The majority of his 16 appearances for Exeter in those two campaigns came towards the end of his stint with the Devon club but included starts in all of last season’s Champions Cup knockout matches as Rob Baxter’s side reached the semi-finals, only to fall short to eventual champions La Rochelle in Bordeaux.

“I loved it,” O’Brien, 25, said. “I had a lot of game time towards the last four or five months of my last year there and before that it was a bit more sporadic but the way I finished up there was brilliant for me. I played in a lot of big games and got a good run of starts.

“I loved my time there, it was really enjoyable, made some great friends, played a lot of rugby and learned a lot rugby-wise, playing with world-class players over there and great coaches. 

"I definitely improved a lot in my two years over there, which is what my goal was moving over, to play more rugby and improve. I feel like I did both of those things there.” 

O’Brien also had plenty of praise for Exeter’s long-serving director of rugby Baxter and the culture he has established at the Chiefs.

“He knows so much about rugby and really drives standards. He entrusts accountability with the lads and gives a lot of trust to the players. If we were slacking off in any way he’d step in but it’s a very player-driven system, and a positive enough environment. It’s a good culture.” 

O’Brien knew his time at Sandy Park was coming to an end so the offer of a deal with Munster was music to his ears.

“It was probably between January and March maybe. The talk was going on for a couple of weeks and out of all the clubs my agent was talking to, as soon as he said Munster my ears perked up and that definitely piqued my interest more than any other club. 

"When the chance comes to move to a club like Munster I’d never say no. So it’s worked out well. I’m living here in Limerick with my partner and we love it.

“It’s quite a similar size to Galway and Exeter so we’re not drifting off too much from what we’re used to. We’re living in the city and getting to know the place now and really enjoying it. There’s plenty of nice places to go for lunch, coffee, go for walks, so we’re loving it so far.”

O’Brien was speaking before the first-half head knock he sustained against Bayonne on his Champions Cup debut for Munster, but he spoke of his desire to be on the team sheet for this Sunday’s Pool 3 showdown with last season’s semi-finalists. 

Munster say O’Brien has begun the graduated return-to-play protocols  and his availability will be determined later in the week.

“I’ll have to work hard to keep my place and get back over there. It would be nice to see some familiar faces over there so I’ll be doing everything I can to be involved in that 23.”