# Seán O’Brien: Ireland v Italy, Selection calls and Coaching life

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ireland-rugby-social-podcast-7549120/se-n-o-brien-ireland-v-italy-selection-calls-and-coaching-life
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ireland-rugby-social-podcast-7549120/se-n-o-brien-ireland-v-italy-selection-calls-and-coaching-life.md
Podcast: [The Ireland Rugby Social Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ireland-rugby-social-podcast-7549120)
Published: 2026-02-11T10:38:00+00:00
Episode link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0n0ct1f
Audio file: http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0n0cmgn.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ireland-rugby-social-podcast-7549120/episodes/se-n-o-brien-ireland-v-italy-selection-calls-and-coaching-life
Duration seconds: 2043

## Resource

Former Ireland, Leinster and Lions back row Seán O’Brien joins The Ireland Rugby Social to share his thoughts on Ireland’s selection ahead of the Six Nations clash with Italy. Seán weighs in on back-row balance, what coaches really look for at Test level, and why some players thrive in games while others struggle to translate training form. Drawing on his experience as both an elite international and a coach, he discusses mindset, physicality, and the psychology behind selection calls. Seán also talks about stepping into coaching, the key differences between the current Irish team and past squads, and what young players must work on to make it to international level.

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## Transcript

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