Osborne ready to go full circle from supporter to star

In 2009, Joe Osborne treated his sons Jamie and Andrew to a dream trip to Edinburgh to see Leinster lift the European Cup for the first time. In March, the Bective Ranger was in Parma to see his two boys play together for the province for the first time and you can be sure he’ll be at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday when his eldest is set to play in the Champions Cup final against Toulouse.

Products of Naas RFC and the club game, the duo are examples of the province’s tentacles extending beyond the traditional schools. Talented, strong and driven, they are expected to become part of the furniture in the coming seasons.

Jamie’s excellent recent performances are the reason no one is overly stressed about Garry Ringrose’s lack of success in rehabilitating his shoulder injury. The co-captain is clearly a key player, but his young stand-in is of such quality that the drop-off isn’t too severe.

Playing in a final will see the softly-spoken Kildare man come full circle from that day at Murrayfield and, while he’s aware of the enormity of the occasion that awaits, there’s a calmness about him that suggests he’s not daunted by the prospect.

“I was seven and Andrew was five, a good memory,” he smiled. “I remember Johnny Sexton’s drop goal very well. That’s probably the main image I remember from the game. It was special. I probably didn’t realise how big a game it was for the club at the time, but I remember being there and how happy my dad was anyway.”

Growing up, Osborne played Gaelic football at half-forward for Naas, alongside a number of future Kildare players including Alex Beirne, Paddy McDermott and Darragh Kirwan.

At 16, he knew he’d have to specialise and there was no doubt in his mind which way that decision would go.

And, once he’d made the call, he never felt like his background was an impediment to success. Indeed, you look at his range of skills and wonder if the relative lack of structure allowed him to play the way he does.

“Rugby was always my number one. Once I started getting into the Leinster pathway, I was happy to concentrate fully on that. I consider myself lucky to have played with Naas, through minis and youths, I played for the senior team as well. To represent the club and the town is really special because it’s not that common, but I think there is a possibility for more people to come up through the town and the club.

“There is a little jump around Leinster under 19s when you first step up. You kind of see they [the schools players] are a bit more used to the coaching and the training. But I see when most young lads come into the academy, it’s pretty even. I think you can make that jump at that stage. Lads coming up, there is definitely less of a gap.”

He cites Joe Carbery, father of Joey, and Leinster academy chief Simon Broughton as key influences, but you only have to look at Osborne’s game to understand that this is a player of major potential.

Andy Farrell had him in several squads and he seems destined for a cap by the end of the year, having served his apprenticeship — just like Joe McCarthy and others before him.

“It’s something that’s definitely an objective of mine. So yeah, probably fair to say,” he said cautiously, before returning to the narrower focus of winning a European medal with Leinster on the pitch.

“Every time we go into the gym, on the wall there are pictures of teams from 2001 all the way up. It’s definitely something I see and I’d love to be up on the wall some day with a trophy. Yeah.”

He might not have to wait too long.