Something of a rollercoaster season for Jamie Osborne has finished on a high. Having missed out on the Leinster match-day 23 for the Champions Cup quarter-final and semi-final, and then been on the bench in the United Rugby Championship final, he was two days away from finishing his season. That season-closing game was scheduled to be Ireland’s game against Portugal in Lisbon.
The Thursday before the Portugal game, he was in a taxi with Craig Casey, Cian Prendergast, Darragh Murray and Jack Crowley en route to a barber’s when his phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw it was Andy Farrell.
“It was out of the blue,” said Osborne, confirming that the Ireland and Lions head coach had given him no indication that he might come into consideration for a late call-up.
“He hadn’t said anything to me, but I was just in Lisbon and I got a phone call on Thursday at 11 o’clock and saw his name and thought, ‘this is probably good’.
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“The lads were probably celebrating more than myself,” he added.
Andy Farrell's Lions fire the first shot in Australia
Osborne immediately rang his mother, although his parents and three younger brothers had a holiday booked to Spain and haven’t been able to make it out.
“Luckily enough I wasn’t flying until Friday afternoon, so I was able to get my things in order for the day and just enjoy it with the lads back in camp.”
He flew through Dubai and landed in Brisbane a day ahead of the Lions squad. It afforded him a full week helping the Lions prepare for the first Test.
He says having so many Leinster and Irish teammates, as well as coaches he is familiar with, has been a big help.
The versatility is probably a factor as to why I’m here
— Jamie Osborne
“The terminology is different but there’s a lot of similar stuff, so it’s just getting your head around that and then a few different plays. But a lot of it is similar enough and it takes a day and a bit of a walk through to get your head around it.”
Rooming with Josh van der Flier has been helpful. Osborne says his Leinster colleague has all the qualities one would want from a roommate.
“Nice and chilled, doesn’t snore, neat and tidy. I’m probably messier than him so he’s not enjoying it as much.”
In the Suncorp Stadium last Saturday, Osborne could be seen running at ‘13’ and throwing out a long right-to-left pass.
“I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere in Suncorp, you could feel it in the warm-up, how loud it could get and it’s a really cool stadium.”
The arrival of Jordie Barrett was definitely a double-edged sword for Osborne and the same is true of his versatility.
He said: “It can feel like a good thing when you’re getting picked and it can feel like a bad thing when you’re not.
“I suppose it’s about turning it into a strength rather than a weakness and if the time comes when I’m finding myself settling in a position, so be it.
“I can really go for that, but at the moment, the versatility is probably a factor as to why I’m here. You can’t knock it.”
Certainly not when it results in him partnering Owen Farrell for the Lions in the enclosed Marvel Stadium against the First Nation and Pasifika XV.
“Yeah, it’s really cool. You can see the leadership he brings around camp and the way he speaks, it’s very impressive. When he speaks, everyone listens, so hopefully it’s going to be good playing alongside him.
“I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can as well.”
