It says much about Jamie Osborne that in his own typically unobtrusive way, his secure and quietly effective performances have made light of the injuries that have sidelined Hugo Keenan and Mack Hansen.
Indeed, necessity being the mother of invention, one of the plusses of Ireland’s high number of enforced absentees is that more players have been exposed to this year’s Six Nations than might otherwise have been the case. And Osborne’s timely return from injury is likely to give him an extended run.
It’s also easy to forget that the opening game in Paris was Osborne’s first outing since the win over Japan in November. The initial diagnosis on Osborne’s shoulder injury was that he’d be “unavailable for upwards of four months” but in the event he was back playing against France less than three months later.
Did Ireland restore confidence ahead of Twickenham showdown?
This is just as well, as it’s hard to know where else Andy Farrell would have turned. A skilful, clever, multipurpose player, as he showed in South Africa in 2024 when pitched into the two Tests against the Springboks, it’s clear he also possesses a calm temperament.
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An excellent high take when gathering a steepling bomb by Paolo Garbisi would have spread confidence into his team-mates and he was a consistently good link when joining the backline. There was also, of course, the opening try of the game in the 17th minute when he held his depth and timed his run on to Stuart McCloskey’s offload to complete that nine-phase attack.
“Yeah I think it was a real team effort, I can’t remember how it started now,” says Osborne, when actually credit must go to Sam Prendergast for running on to and gathering an overthrow by Dan Sheehan to link with McCloskey in the first of his three significant carries in the move.
“But I think we worked our way into the 22 well and with Stu, when he gets the ball in his hands you know he’s probably going to get his hands free. I just tried to run off him and I was lucky enough to get a ball off him and score, so I can’t take too much credit.”
McCloskey’s carrying and offloading is his point of difference, and the Ulsterman had another try assist (to add to his one in Paris) against the Azzurri with his overarm pass to Robert Baloucoune.
“Yeah, exactly, and to be fair I didn’t expect [McCloskey] to throw a quarterback pass to Rob Baloucoune,” says Osborne. “He comes out with a bit of unexpected stuff as well but he’s a joy to play with, and when you see him carrying forward and you’re behind him you know you’ve got a good chance he’s going to pop the ball to you.
“We had a close one in Chicago, if you can remember,” says Osborne of a moment against the All Blacks last November when he would have been sent clear by McCloskey’s offload but for Ardie Savea’s hand doing enough to prevent the connection between the two Irish players.
“He always gets good go-forward ball and he’s so good at getting his hands free,” says Osborne.
The 24-year-old from Naas was also adjusting to changes on each wing, with the familiar presence of James Lowe on the left and a first outing in tandem with man-of-the-match Robert Baloucoune.
“I thought Rob was class,” says Osborne. “It was my first week really training with him as well and I thought just his ability with the ball, he gets his hands free as well, his ability to beat defenders and his all-out speed is a real point of difference for him – he’s a joy to play with.”
There was a better flow to Ireland’s attack, if only in spells or patches, be in the first quarter and either side of the hour mark.
“Andy alluded to the intent factor last week and how it wasn’t really there. It wasn’t perfect, but I think we brought a lot more intent. We had some, I thought, very nice passages to play and it might have been a wide breakdown or the last pass that we’d be come undone by.
“But I thought it was a lot more positive anyway, and I know there’s a lot to work on but I think we can be pleased with the intent part of the game.
“They’re a good side,” stresses Osborne with regard to Italy. “We didn’t take them lightly at any stage, in the autumn they obviously beat Australia, pushed South Africa, they’d a great win last week against Scotland in tough conditions. So I don’t think anyone should be looking at Italy now as a weaker team, I think they’re definitely right up there.”
That was Osborne’s third try in his 12th Test match, and all three have been scored in his eight starts at full-back. His versatility has meant that he has played on both wings and both midfield positions as well as at “15″ for Leinster. At the risk of him being asked this multiple times before, you wonder if he has a preference?
After a pause for thought, he smiles and says: “While I’m playing fullback, I’ll say fullback.”
