After his short international career to date had taken him through Tbilisi, Lisbon and Chicago, Tommy O'Brien was finally able to enjoy the real deal at home.
The 27-year-old Dubliner won his fourth Irish cap in Saturday's 41-10 win against Japan, but his first in front of an Aviva audience.
Friends and family in the crowd, Amhrán na bhFiann, and a different kind of nervous excitement.
"That was pretty special," he said of the experience. "I had some family out. My grandparents came out; they haven’t been to a game since I was probably 18. They’re proper glory supporters, they came out for the Irish game. No, I’m only messing.
"I was having a look during the anthems to see if I could spot anyone but I didn’t, which was probably a good thing. It might have sent me over the edge. But it was good, really special."
The Leinster wing (below) was the standout player in an otherwise forgettable game of rugby, earning the man of the match award for a performance that saw him run for 143 metres off 12 carries, while making four clean breaks and winning two turnovers.
He capped the day off with a try right at the end, but it was a score that capped off an excellent individual display rather than one which defined it.
Drifting inside Sam Prendergast off a turnover, O’Brien steamed onto a delicate offload from the out-half before stepping on the gas to score his fifth international try, and first at Lansdowne Road.
"Me and Sammy were on the same page, I could see he was going across but he didn’t have the wheels to take it the whole way so I dropped under him and he knew what I was going to do. It was nice to be on the same page like that.
"I gave a nice little fist pump into the crowd afterwards, which was cool, but I was blowing hard getting back.
"Sammy gave me a nice 50-metre run-in so I had to give it my all. I couldn’t get caught there!"
The Blackrock man has taken to international rugby excellently after injuries forced his career to stutter during his mid-20s.
He dipped his toe into the Test game during the summer versus Georgia and Portugal, scoring two tries in each of those games, and with Mack Hansen out injured, he was retained in the 14 shirt for the first two matches of this Quilter Nations Series block.
"Obviously the summer tour was great to get in and get a taste of it, and then the last few weeks were a step up in terms of the level," he said.
"The All Blacks game was very physical but I felt like I belonged at that level. I didn’t feel like I was shocked or anything like that but it’s just the margins are very small and you’ve got to nail every little small moment."
FT: Ireland 41-10 Japan
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) November 8, 2025
Much better from Ireland in the second half with Tommy O'Brien with their final try in their win over Japan at the Aviva Stadium.
📺 RTÉ2
🖥️ https://t.co/b2OI4OoWVJ
✍️ https://t.co/x26q4bjNM0 pic.twitter.com/B3s3dgkVmz
It has taken O'Brien longer than he would have liked to become an Ireland international, but that isn't necessarily a negative as he reflects on the player he is today.
"I'm also probably a lot more mature than I would have been, maybe if I was 22 or 23 or whatever.
"So that probably helps me in terms of not being as nervous coming into the games.
"I feel like I've worked very hard. I've had so many downs, so I just enjoy these kind of experiences, in these days.
"I guess when you’re in [the game] it’s another rugby game, you’ve been doing it your whole life. I’ve been playing it since I was four years old. It’s kind of what I’ve been telling myself before I go out, 'it’s just another game of rugby’.
"Obviously, you want to be able to feed off the crowd and the magnitude of everything and allow yourself to go to another level in terms of finding stuff within you physically that you didn’t realise you had, and using the crowd in that capacity.
"But in terms of weighing on you and nervousness, I’ve actually been okay thankfully. Yeah really enjoying myself so far."
