'AT TIMES YOU'RE THINKING MAYBE I SHOULD BE A BIT MORE SPECIALISED IN A CERTAIN POSITION'

TOMORROW JAMIE OSBORNE wins cap number eight in an Ireland jersey, and significantly, the meeting with Georgia [KO 6pm Irish time, Virgin Media], will mark the first time the Leinster player starts a Test game in the position many feel will be his long term home.

The 23-year-old is one of the most versatile players in the Ireland camp. Across 17 appearances for Leinster in the season just gone, Osborne started games at fullback, on both wings and in both centre positions.

Five of his seven Ireland caps have come in the starting team, with Osborne wearing the 15 shirt four times and starting on the right wing in the Six Nations against France. Against Georgia tomorrow, Osborne moves to outside centre, forming a new-look centre partnership with Ulster’s Stuart McCloskey – the most senior member of Paul O’Connell’s 33-man touring squad.

With McCloskey offering experience and power at inside centre, Osborne will hope to get his hands on the ball and showcase his pace and footballing skills at 13, but he knows his role without the ball will be just as important against a powerful Georgian team.

“As a 13, you’re probably a bit of a defensive leader in the team,” Osborne says.

“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.

“It’s probably different from, say, being a fullback. 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. I’m ready.”

Despite his rising stock Osborne faced a challenging year at Leinster, with the arrival of Jordie Barrett increasing the already strong competition for a place in the centre positions. In the 2023/24 season 15 of Osborne’s 16 starts for the province came at centre (nine at inside centre, six at outside centre). In 2024/25, he started four games at 12, two at 13, six at fullback and three on the wing.

Unsurprisingly, the Kildare native is reluctant to pick any one position as his ‘favourite’ – a question he’s faced countless times across the season – but admits that versatility can work both for and against him, using Lions’ back Elliot Daly as an example.

“Yeah, I think it’s definitely a strength and it probably, sometimes it can seem a bit like a bit of a weakness at times if you’re say, not selected and you’re thinking ‘maybe I should be a bit more specialised in a certain position’, but when you look at him (Daly) and you look at his performance last weekend, how reliable he was and how classy of an operator he is really… So I think it’s definitely a strength. I suppose over time we’ll see and hopefully can figure it out how to best utilise it.”

That versatility helped him secure a place in Leinster and Ireland teams for key games across the campaign – featuring three times in the November internationals, once in the Six Nations, once in the Champions Cup knockouts and twice in the URC playoffs, before dropping to the bench for the URC final win over the Bulls in Croke Park.

“It was obviously challenging (to play in so many big games) but I really enjoyed it, really enjoyed the challenge.

“The more big games you play, the more you want to play in the big games, if you know what I mean. Once you get a first taste of a really big game, you do anything you can to get back in there and you learn a lot from the preparation in the week and you learn a lot from those games so I really enjoyed them.

“It probably builds you as a player as you’re going along and getting those experiences. I think you definitely get a bit more confidence in your abilities once you’re able to perform in those games.”

With so many centres unavailable for this two-game Ireland tour, Osborne will be sensing opportunity. Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose are both away with the Lions, while Robbie Henshaw is nursing a knee injury. Make a statement across these two games and Osborne can have a bigger say in the selection conversation when the November internationals roll around.

Georgia and Portugal might not have the blockbuster billing of a Lions tour, but Osborne is still enjoying his time in a refreshed Ireland camp.

“I suppose 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.

“There’s a lot of excitement in the group, a lot of uncapped players so I suppose we all just want to gel together quickly and put in the best performance we can and just show how much it means to us to play for Ireland.”

2025-07-04T06:05:30Z