Jamie Osborne on Lions call: 'I was in a taxi. We were actually all going to a barber'

Irish Examiner

7 days ago

It was only 12 days ago that Jamie Osborne was sharing a cab with his Ireland team-mates on a trip to Lisbon barbers when his mobile started buzzing. On Tuesday the centre with eight international caps will pull on the famous red jersey and become a British & Irish Lion, lining up in midfield alongside Owen Farrell and kicking off against the First Nations & Pasifika XV at Marvel Stadium.
The phone call that changed the 24-year-old's rugby life was from Andy Farrell and it came in the company of Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Darragh Murray and Cian Prendergast. Full-back Blair Kinghorn's knee injury against the Brumbies meant the versatile back was required in Australia and now the pair will line up together in the same backline.
'I think every player dreams of it,' Osborne said in Melbourne, a week after linking up with the Lions in Brisbane. 'I probably didn't have much hopes for it after the initial squad announcement. I wasn't really thinking about it but it was amazing to get the call.
'It was out of the blue. 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'.
'I was in a taxi. We were actually all going to a barber. There was five of us there so it was good fun. The lads were probably celebrating more than myself. Yeah, it was class.'
Nearly two weeks on from that call and the Leinster centre is still on cloud nine having immersed himself into the Lions tour experience, helping to prepare the first Test team prepare for last Saturday's series opener against the Wallabies.
'You're definitely nervous but I think it gets a little easier the older you get but it definitely helped that there's a lot of Irish players and Leinster players in camp, and the coaching staff, most of whom I've worked with before.
'That definitely helps and I would say that I was less nervous than maybe a few of the Scottish lads who have come in recently.'
Osborne's versatility in his ability to cover 12 and 13, both wings and full-back has not gone unnoticed and the Naas RFC man has learned to see that adaptability as a positive rather than the alternative.
"Wherever it's needed, I'll give it a go. 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'.
It is no surprise to learn Osborne is determined to enjoy the game against First Nations and Pasifika, armed with the sort of confidence garnered only by having played successful Test rugby with Ireland, beginning last summer with a dream Test debut against the Springboks as Farrell's full-back.
'The week in general, obviously I was probably most nervous I've been that week just because of the occasion. I hadn't played that position in a while.
"But when you come through that, definitely you get a bit more confidence. Obviously the following week went well as well, so that probably gave me more confidence.
'Everyone wants to put their best foot forward and win in a Lions jersey, never mind just playing in it.
"I want to play to the best of my ability, enjoy it as well. You won't enjoy it as much if you don't play to play as well."