Another Sean O'Brien
On this massive Heineken Cup weekend. Leinster have just beaten Saracens to qualify for the quarter-finals … now it’s up to Ulster (v. Biarritz) and Munster (v. Toulon). It was nice that Sean O’Brien put in a phenomenal man-of-the-match performance for Leinster.
These are the reverse fixtures of the last weekend of our Sean’s life. His girlfriend and some of his friends are coming to our house to watch the Munster match tomorrow … all are welcome.
The road to God knows where ... Brendan O'Brien 
Now you got me. Obviously I’d support Ulster but I guess you are all Munster fans. Anyway looks like I can’t get transport arranged that quickly. Must open a large can of Whoop Ass and head to the north.
We like to see any Irish team do well, but especially Munster and Leinster. Ulster just haven’t cut the mustard since 1999, but they’ve just beaten Biarritz to give themselves a good chance of getting to the quarters, which is great.
You can count on PapaG’s support for tomorrow, though my eye and ear will be on the Tottenham Man Utd game at White Hart Lane. Great sport, great occasions and great memories. We must believe!
Indeed, PapaG. They certainly add to life’s rich pageant. Thanks for this. 🙂
I’d love to see Spurs beat United … they must have a good chance.
Brendano. Last night I went to a pub called the Webb Ellis. They serve real ale there and are big on rugby. I mentioned the Munster Toulon match, which the pub will be screening. I spoke to the pub manager about your son, and how the Munster team would be playing with your son in mind. I told him about the circumstances. He said that he would make an announcement in the pub about this, before the match.
That’s wonderful, Cymbeline … thank you so much!
I watched the match in the Webb Ellis pub. Have just arrived home. I was sorry that Munster did not win. Before the match, I gave the pub manager a card with information about your son, and how the Munster team were playing with him in mind.
As we left, he came up to us and said that he would make a notice with my card in the pub, in memory of Séan.
Very good man. Pub with a good ethos.
Hello Cymbeline. Yes, that is quite typical of the decent and sporting rugby ethos. Thanks for doing it … it means a lot.
We had a good crowd here to watch the match, and a few drinks. Munster were very flat, unfortunately. I thought some bad refereeing decisions went against them, but Toulon fully deserved to win.
It feels like the end of an era. Sean would have been disappointed … Pauline put his old Munster jersey on his grave this morning. But that’s life, and that’s sport. We’ll pin our hopes on Leinster now. Munster will be back, I’m sure. 🙂
Munster still had a better head-to-head record against Toulon, having beaten them 45-18 in Limerick in October. It was the narrow away defeats to London Irish and Ospreys that proved Munster’s undoing.
At least there will be two Irish sides in the quarter-finals, provided that Ulster can win in Italy next weekend.
Strange days, in many ways.
Good morning Brendano
Hope your family is well. I have empathised with the sentiments that inspire you to write these blogs about Sean from the beginning. But I now have a renewed understanding of the suddenness of death, of memories left behind and of the need to reflect. May peace always be with you and your family.
Hello Shermeen … it’s good to see you. Thank you very much for the kind words.
Hello Brendano. Just thought I would tell you that we went to the Webb Ellis last night, and that the pub manager came up to us to tell us that he had left the card about Sean and the Munster team on the notice board for a week.
Hello Cymbeline … that’s nice to know – thank you.
I hope you had a good night in the Webb Ellis.
And that you didn’t get too drunk. 🙂
It was the evening of a surprise. Husband telephoned to give me the address of a hotel in the city, and told me to be there within a quarter of an hour. He works away during the week (he is making a train), and managed to get off early. Lovely hotel, splendid meal at a fish and oyster restaurant, and I wanted to show my face at the Webb Ellis because the pub manager had been so kind about your son.
Sounds like a very good evening.
Yes, and we conducted ourselves quite well, notwithstanding the Champagne, the Sancerre and the pint of real ale.
Not feeling the worse for it today, I hope!
We just had a bottle of red wine between us … our usual tipple. Not going out too much these days, but we still get a good number of visitors to the house.
Have you thought of having a weekend away with your wife? Just the two of you?
We’ll probably do that before too long. At the moment we seem to be busy with various things.
Yes. I know that.
The other two went ‘up north’ today to see their mum/granny … will be back later.
I have written a song today … don’t know whether it’s any good; will have to try it out on the others.