Irish legend O'Brien dies

Des O'Brien, one of the legends of Irish rugby, died in his home in Lasswade, Midlothian, Scotland on Boxing Day. He was 86.

When John Scally wrote his book The Giants of Irish Rugby in 1996, O'Brien was one of the 40. His chapter was headed The Leader of the Pack.

O'Brien was a loose forward and played 20 times for Ireland between 1948 and 1952. He was never dropped.

The year 1948 was a significant year in Ireland's rugby history for that year the men in emerald green won the Grand Slam, never to be repeated it seems. He made his debut at Twickenham that year when Ireland beat England 11-10. They then beat France on Paris 13-6, Scotland 6-0 at Lansdowne Road and Wales 6-3 at Ravenhill. It was the first time Ireland had won the Triple Crown since 1899 and the only time they won the Grand Slam.

In 1952 O'Brien captained Ireland on a eight-match tour to Argentina. They played twice against Argentina - drawing 3-all and winning 6-0 - but did not give caps for the matches. That was in August-September 1952, his Irish swan song.

At this time Ireland had a great pack and he was its leader. They scrummed particularly well and employed the wheel and dribbling to good effect. Behind the pack they had the genius of Jackie Kyle.

He also attributed the success to the fitness of the players, as Scally records him saying: "in the five years I played for Ireland nobody had a wife or a motor car. We either walked or cycled. This gave us a natural fitness which the players don't have today. I know this may sound like boasting but I think we were the fittest back row that ever played for Ireland. Jim McCarthy in particular had exceptional fitness. Our other colleague in the back row, Bill McKay, was a 400 yards sprinting champion and a boxing champion. The three of us played together 14 times for Ireland and lost only three games."

He captained Ireland five times - against South Africa in 1951 and then against France, Scotland, Wales and Ireland in 1952. At that time he was playing in Cardiff.

In his invitation to play against South Africa in 1951, his first match as captain, he was told: "Your jersey will be supplied, and must be returned immediately at the conclusion of the game, otherwise a charge of 25/- will be made."

The players were not given socks as they played in their club socks.

Though he lived in and played for Cardiff, there was no hotel accommodation for him in Dublin for his mother lived in the city and he was expected to stay with her.

Terry Godwin in his book The International Rugby Championship writes of O'Brien's last match: "It was also the nineteenth and last Championship appearance of Des O'Brien, who added a new dimension to Irish back-row play with his ball skill, distribution and speed in the loose. His leadership by example was badly missed by Ireland, who went downhill rapidly from 1952."

In his career, apart from Ireland, he played for Belvedere College, Cardiff, Edinburgh University, London Irish, Old Belvedere, Wasps and the Barbarians.

In 1966 O'Brien was the manager of the Lions on their tour to Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

After his playing career, the Guinness rep took a master's degree in architecture and settle din Edinburgh.

It was not just rugby that was his sport. He played squash 14 times for Ireland, was disappointed that he had not tried to qualify for Wimbledon, and played hockey for Wales.
 
Desmond Joseph O'Brien was born in Dublin on 22 May 1919. He was educated at Belvedere College and the University of Edinburgh. He died in Edinburgh on 26 December 2005.