O’BRIEN EXILED

Flanker’s exit ‘disappointing’ for Lancaster

SEAN O’BRIEN is set for a World Cup swansong after the veteran flanker’s big-money deal with Declan Kidney’s London Irish was confirmed yesterday. O’Brien (below), who won his first Ireland cap under Kidney in 2009, will link up with the English club in December on a three-year deal believed to be in the region of €400,000 per season. O’Brien, who will turn 32 on Thursday, was not offered a central contract extension from the IRFU due to his age and injury profile and the Leinster openside has opted to link up with Kidney and former Ireland defence coach Les Kiss. He will become an Exile in every sense due to the IRFU directive of not considering foreign-based players for international selection. ‘When you lose a player of Sean’s quality everyone is disappointed,’ said Leinster senior coach Stuart Lancaster yesterday. ‘In an ideal world, you keep all your best players until the very end. It was