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Published 20:58 21 Sept 2017 BST
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New Zealand are extremely good but there were holes in their armour. Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Keaven Mealamu and Dan Carter had all gone - their replacements only bedding in - and both Nehe Milner Skudder and Dane Coles were not Test ready. Ryan Crotty and Ben Smith both had injury issues.
O'Brien backed his teammates and was dismayed at some of the lacklustre coaching on tour [namely backs/attack coach Rob Howley] and Warren Gatland allowing training sessions to stack up.
He kept his counsel until he did old Leinster and Ireland teammate Luke Fitzgerald a solid and appeared on The Left Wing podcast. As he generally does, O'Brien spoke with the screen/filter down. He is as honest about himself and his shortcomings as he is those of others. It was a casual conversation but those comments were always going to be picked up.
And so it was, a week later and down at Tullow RFC, O'Brien was asked about the Lions and he answered frankly. Yes he was proud but, yes, he wanted more.
Warren Gatland and many of the Lions cheerleaders may dine off a 1-1 draw against the All Blacks as some sort of shared history but O'Brien sees like like many of his teammates see it. Like the entire nation of New Zealand sees it. No-one won so there were no winners.
https://twitter.com/willcarling/status/910911564093550592?s=08
As former England and Lions centre Will Carling put it, all O'Brien did was offer his opinion and his belief that the next Lions team should go to South Africa with the very best coaching staff they can get.
In return, he has received praise for being forthright in some quarters while in others [The Telegraph and Wales Online] he has been lectured. A Telegraph piece written by Giles Mole declares:
'Sean O'Brien has let the Lions down by publicly criticising the coaches'Give over. The gist of this piece is that O'Brien is finger-pointing and name-checking. It starts by saying honesty from sports stars should be applauded by in moderation, please. 'Don't spoil it, Sean' he is told. Many in the UK are not used to O'Brien like we are, in Ireland, so perhaps the overreaction to his comments arises from their unfamiliarity with his character. O'Brien will say to your face what others may whisper behind your back. He's not backwards about coming forward and yet he is an affable, considerate man. He knows he will look back on that tour, at the end of his days, and think, 'We could've had them'. Why nod his head and take the plaudits when he feels, deep down, something truly special could have taken place. Don't spoil it. Don't spoil what? Take your draw and misty-eye it as much as you want. Sean O'Brien isn't having it.
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