Ex-Leinster captain discusses the Ireland international

Sean O'Brien's recent form has come under some scrutiny.

The Leinster and Ireland back-row has had to contend with a string of injury setbacks over the last couple of years.

But he has been back in the fold of late for country and province.

Ex-Leinster captain Liam Toland joined us on Wednesday Night Rugby and shared his thoughts on the flanker.

"For me, if you had all the opensides available to Ireland, the best openside in Ireland is still Sean O'Brien," he said.

Big Conundrum

"In the sense that he can do it all.  He can carry. About five years ago, he changed his breakdown routine and he became more technically proficient around the breakdown.

"But he was doing all the other stuff as well. My worry for him would be how much damage has been done to his hips, his back - all the muscular, skeletal system. Will he ever get back to his world class level?

"Only time will tell that. But I'd have concerns about him: Is he able to get back to that level? Will his body allow him to get back to that level? And that's the big conundrum for him."

Toland also discussed how Ulster challenged Leinster in their Heineken Champions Cup clash.

"The minute the ball was floating in the air towards Ringrose, the two [Ulster] guys abandoned everything else to stop him," he said.

"And it was brilliant to watch. But it was another thing that Leinster have to figure out if you don't have a really big ball-carrier inside Ringrose."

You can watch the full chat with Toland and Irish Independent's Ruaidhri O'Connor above via our YouTube channel.

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