O’Donnell putting team before personal ambitions

Few players in rugby have had worse injury luck than Munster and Ireland back row forward Tommy O’Donnell. The Tipperary man has endured a catalogue of injuries since making his debut for the province in 2007, with the one suffered on the eve of the 2015 World Cup perhaps the cruellest.

However, O’Donnell isn’t feeling sorry for himself and his philosophy that injury is very much part of the modern game is refreshing.

His eye catching display against the Toyota Cheetahs on Saturday in his first game since March, also shows that he is coming out all guns blazing this season.

However, with plenty of high quality back rows in Munster’s squad now, O’Donnell is pragmatic enough to realise that he won’t get game time every week.

“You have to realise that it’s team first,” said O’Donnell at Munster’s High Performance Centre at the University of Limerick this week.

“You can’t go the whole season with just 23 players. There is a squad of 45, 46 players there and in fairness you see other teams, like Leinster last year. If you are going to win two trophies in a year, you need all those players and use them well.

“I think that if you have a team first attitude, that will get you through most selection issues and through to next week. If it’s three or four weeks before you get a game, you just have to be ready to go.”

O’Donnell was certainly ready to go at Thomond Park last week as he topped off a fine comeback with a try in what was a comfortable day at the office for Munster.

This weekend is a different story, however, as Glasgow Warriors in their own back yard is sure to be a very different prospect for Munster.

“They will be buoyed by that win,” said O’Donnell on Glasgow’s victory against Connacht in Galway. “To get a win on the first day away from home, they will be looking forward for us coming to them this week.

“It’s a physical rivalry. It’s two teams that have high ambitions for themselves and high standards of themselves as well.

“We both have a win in the column so we both will be looking to get the next one. It will be a tough game this weekend and you can expect the same, physical and fast encounter again.”

Despite his injury woes, O’Donnell hasn’t given up on making it back into the international fold and adding to the 12 caps that he has won for Ireland.

It remains to be seen if O’Donnell’s absence from the playing field has seen him slip down the pecking order in Joe Schmidt’s mind but he will answer the call if it comes.

“Injuries can happen at any time so you have to be ready. If it comes to the World Cup, all you can do is be there, fit and playing a good brand of rugby.

“That’s where you have to aim for. What happens between here and then, you never know but all you can do is aim for that.”