By Irishexaminer.com Shane Donovan
His inclusion at full-back was a big call for Andy Farrell to make. Heading into the fortress that is Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, a then 22-year-old Osborne – who had not played full-back since November ’22 in the blue of Leinster – scored a try after 34 minutes.
Farrell was clear in his admiration for Osborne, who was deputising for Hugo Keenan during the first-choice 15’s Olympic Sevens stint, keeping him in his starting 15 despite a narrow 27-20 first Test loss to Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks.
The now seven-cap international would start and finish the 25-24 win in the second Test over the Boks’ and has gone on to solidify his place as a contender for matchday squads and beyond in the time since.
With a number of Irish retirements, and a multitude away with the British and Lions, the 23-year-old has naturally taken on an elevated role in interim head coach Paul O’Connell’s Ireland squad for their tour of Georgia and Portugal. Others, like tour captain Craig Casey have done likewise.
“There’s a lot of excitement in the group, a lot of uncapped players, so we all just want to get together quickly and put in the best performance we can and just show how much it means to us to play for Ireland,” Osborne said.
“When you’re in the squad with people with a lot more experience, you’re probably looking to learn off them a lot.
“You’re looking up to them, you’re asking more questions. Whereas, maybe in this environment, I’ve been here a couple of years now, so it’s probably about passing on a bit more knowledge than I would.
“But at the end of the day, I’d still have questions to ask other lads and I hope they’d feel comfortable to ask me questions. So it’s a bit of a mix.”
“I’ve tried to lead in training on the pitch with my actions mainly and hopefully others can look up to that.”
The versatile back will wear 13 on his back, rather than 15, when Ireland take on Georgia in Tbilisi on Saturday (kick-off, 6pm Irish time).
“Defensively, as a 13, you’re probably a bit of a defensive leader in the team. You look at Garry (Ringrose), what he does for whatever team he’s involved with these days, he’s really combative, and he leads the line,” he said.
“It’s probably different from, say, being a full-back. You’re close to the ball as well. There’s that little bit around where you’re scanning, you’re talking to the 10 and stuff like that. So there are differences, but I’m enjoying each position.”
Much has been said about his versatility. It’s certainly a plus for a coaching setup. Whether it’s a help or a hindrance for the player is another question. Osborne only sees it one way.
I think it’s definitely a strength, sometimes it can seem a bit like a bit of a weakness at times if you’re not selected and you’re thinking ‘maybe I should be a bit more specialised in a certain position’… over time we’ll see and, you know, hopefully I can figure it out how to best utilise it.”
IRELAND: J O’Brien, T O’Brien, J Osborne, S McCloskey, J Stockdale, S Prendergast, C Casey (captain); J Boyle, G McCarthy, T Clarkson, C Izuchukwu, D Murray, R Baird, N Timoney, G Coombes.
Replacements: T Stewart, M Milne, J Aungier, T Ahern, C Prendergast, B Murphy, J Crowley, C Nash.