Seán Kevin O'Brien (born 14 February 1987) is an Irish retired professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player. He previously represented home province

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

for eleven seasons. At Leinster, he helped the team win four European titles, and was named ERC European Player of the Year for the 2010–11 season, he then played three season's for English

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

side

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. Whil ...

. Internationally, he played for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

for ten years, and toured twice with the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

in 2013 and 2017. O'Brien can play across the back-row, though he primarily plays as an openside flanker.

Professional career

Leinster

O’Brien made his Leinster debut against

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arm ...

in September 2008 in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

. He made his

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

debut against

Castres Olympique Castres Olympique () is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They play at the St ...

in December 2008. He did not feature for Leinster in the

2009 Heineken Cup Final The 2009 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2008–09 Heineken Cup, the 14th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 23 May 2009 at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh; this was the second time that the ...

, but evidence of O’Brien's emergence as one of the most exciting young back-row forwards in Europe came in the form of strong interest from France before Christmas of 2010. The Irish Rugby Football Union moved quickly and O’Brien agreed a new three-year deal with Leinster the following January. Sean O'Brien cropped

O'Brien was in outstanding form for Leinster during the pool stages of the 2010–11 Heineken Cup, and was an integral part of the team that beat

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

to win the

2011 Heineken Cup Final Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...

. In 2012 O'Brien helped Leinster win the

2012 Heineken Cup Final The 2012 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2011–12 Heineken Cup, the 17th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 19 May 2012 at Twickenham Stadium in London, England. The final was between Ulst ...

, scoring a try as Leinster beat

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

. In January 2014, O'Brien signed a new two-year deal with Leinster. On 21 December 2015, O'Brien signed a new three-year contract with Leinster.

London Irish

O'Brien joined English Premiership side

, where former Ireland head coach Declan Kidney and assistant coach

Les Kiss Les Kiss (born 9 December 1964) is an Australian professional rugby union coach who is the head coach of London Irish in the Gallagher Premiership. He is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the Brisbane Rugby League and ...

are director of rugby and head coach respectively, in December 2019, after the completion of the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

. O'Brien made his debut against

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the ...

on 6 March 2020. He will retire at the conclusion of the 2021–22 season.

Ireland and British & Irish Lions

In 2007, he was a member of the Ireland Under-20 Grand Slam winning squad. O'Brien was called up to the Ireland team for the 2009 November Tests, and he gained his first cap when he came on as a substitute against

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

at the RDS Arena on 21 November 2009. He also came on as a replacement against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

in a 15–10 win on 28 November 2009. He came off the bench against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the

2010 Six Nations Championship The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship and the 116th international championship, an annual rugby union competition b ...

, but was dropped afterwards. He was injured during Ireland's 2010 Summer Tests, but won his first start against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

in the 2010 Autumn Tests, though he did not feature in any other games. O'Brien started every game for Ireland during the

2011 Six Nations The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship, and the 117th edition of the international championship. The annual rugby uni ...

, winning the Man of the Match award against

. He came third in the 2011 Six Nations Player of the Championship losing out to the winner Andrea Masi. He was selected in Ireland's final 30-man squad for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South ...

in New Zealand. O'Brien started against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

during Ireland's World Cup campaign, scoring a try against Russia and winning the Man-of-the-Match award against Italy. O’Brien was ranked among the five best players at the 2011 World Cup, due in significant part to his standout performance against Australia where he led the team in both tackles and runs. O’Brien did not play for Ireland during 2014 due lingering problems from a shoulder injury. In the final 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool D match, O'Brien punched Pascal Papé in the first minute of the win over France. The incident went unnoticed by the match officials, and O'Brien later was named man of the match. The win earned

top pool placement, and a quarter-final against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. O'Brien was later cited by

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

, and received a one-game ban (reduced from the recommended minimum of two for mitigating factors including an "exemplary disciplinary record"), meaning he was unable to play in the

quarter-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. O’Brien last played for Ireland in the 2019 Six Nations. He missed the

due to a hip injury. After joining London Irish in 2020 O'Brien said that he would love to play for Ireland again but he is aware of the unwritten rule in Irish rugby regarding players based overseas not being selected for the national team and he doesn't see this being any different for himself.

Awards

O'Brien was named 2010–2011 ERC European Player of the Year following a season where Leinster were

champions. He was one of five players shortlisted from the 24 Heineken Cup and 20 Amlin Challenge Cup teams that included Leinster teammates

Jamie Heaslip James Peter Richard Heaslip (born 15 December 1983) is an Irish rugby union former player who played for Leinster and Ireland. He played as a number 8. Heaslip earned 95 caps for Ireland during his international career from 2006 to 2017, ma ...

and

Isa Nacewa Isakeli "Isa" Nacewa (born 22 July 1982) is a former rugby union player and coach. Born in New Zealand of Fijian descent, he represented the Fiji national team, winning one cap in 2003. Nacewa was a utility back who played for the Blues in th ...

. O’Brien was ranked by the IRB among the five best players at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. O'Brien was awarded the 2011 Guinness/Rugby Writers of Ireland player of the year and received his award at a function in the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium (also known as Lansdowne Road) is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators (all seated). It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and ...

, Dublin.

Personal life

In September 2014, he bought Bellamy's Pub in

Ballsbridge Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the city. Th ...

with Leinster teammates Rob Kearney,

Dave Kearney Dave Kearney (born 19 June 1989), is an Irish rugby union player who plays wing and fullback for Lansdowne, Leinster and Ireland. He attended Clongowes Wood College. Kearney's older brother, Rob, formerly started at fullback for Leinster and t ...

and

. After an extensive refurbishment, it was reopened as "The Bridge 1859". Since 2018, O'Brien has been in a relationship with

Sarah Rowe Sarah Rowe (born 25 July 1995) is a triple code sportswoman. She is a former Republic of Ireland women's association football international. In addition to association football, Rowe has also played two other football codes at a senior level. ...

Controversy

In June 2019, O'Brien was named in the national newspaper ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' as having urinated on a member of the public in a bar when drinking in Dublin after a Pro 14 match with other players. O'Brien admitted his guilt in an IRFU investigation.

References

External links

IRFU ProfileLeinster ProfilePro14 Profile
* *
London Irish Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Seán 1987 births Living people Rugby union players from County Carlow Irish rugby union players Clontarf FC players University College Dublin R.F.C. players Leinster Rugby players London Irish players Ireland international rugby union players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Irish expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Irish expatriate sportspeople in England