Jimmy O’Brien was given the man of the match award for his superb display as Leinster defeated Bath 64-7 in their final Champions Cup pool game.
O’Brien scored four tries, which would be enough to nab the award on its own, but he mixed it with line breaks and try saving tackles. It also made the Leinster man the top scorer at the Rec this season having scored more tries than any Bath player has.
The 25-year old finished the game with 65 metres from 11 carries, three defenders beaten, one offload, four tries and one disallowed try.
His first opportunity to score came in the 12th minute, as he bounced on a bobbling ball following a Sexton kick through, however it was disallowed after Jordan Larmour clearly pulled back the Bath defender.
NO TRY! 🚫
Jimmy O'Brien thought he'd given @LeinsterRugby the lead.
Ruled out for a pull back by Jordan Larmour. #BATvLEI #HeinekenChampionsCup#VMTVRugby pic.twitter.com/d00FmCcmtW— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) January 22, 2022
O’Brien’s first try came in the 17th minute after beautiful hands from Hugo Keenan.
JIMMY O'BRIEN! 🔵#BATvLEI #HeinekenChampionsCup#VMTVRugby pic.twitter.com/qRKKzPyLV8
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) January 22, 2022
His second and third tries came in quick succession as Leinster began to find their feet and show off the clinical and brutally efficient attack they are known for.
BONUS POINT ✅
Jimmy O'Brien gets @LeinsterRugby's fourth try!
Ruthless yet again! #BATvLEI #HeinekenChampionsCup#VMTVRugby pic.twitter.com/PYZhn5qfIb— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) January 22, 2022
A day he'll never forget, Jimmy O'Brien get's his fourth try of the day for @leinsterrugby! 🙌#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/c8fmf3dprR
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) January 22, 2022
He capped off a memorable performance with his fourth try, while he also showed off fantastic defensive chops with some big hits.
Jimmy O'Brien what a tackle! 😳
Front row seats on that one for the ball boy 😅#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/p9eazKYAeU— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) January 22, 2022
Following the game he was humble, and gave praise to his Leinster team mates in his post-match interview.
The lads put in a great performance. To be honest I didn’t do much, they were all handed to me on a plate (his four tries). I just got a bit lucky.
We were delighted with the performance, we knew what we had to do over the last two weekends and were pretty happy with how it went.
After an error strewn opening quarter, Leinster began to find their rhythm, and O’Brien explained why this lead to a halftime huddle on the pitch.
“We weren’t at our standards in the first half, a lot of balls to the ground.”
The huddle certainly made a difference as Leinster put Bath to the sword in the second half.
🗣️ "We are delighted with the performance."
Leinster's Jimmy O'Brien put in some shift. 👏#C4Rugby | #HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/Dhr97DVa4h— Channel 4 Sport (@C4Sport) January 22, 2022
While he hasn’t been named in Andy Farrell’s initial Six Nations squad, do not be surprised to see the Leinster man called up in the coming weeks.
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