Clayton McMillan: "Limerick scrum-half Jake O'Riordan has big future ahead of him" after impressive Munster Rugby debut

MUNSTER Rugby head coach Clayton McMillan believes highly-rated young Limerick scrum-half Jake O'Riordan has 'a big future ahead of him' after making his senior debut for the province in Saturday might's URC victory over Connacht at Thomond Park.

Twenty-year-old O'Riordan came up through the rugby ranks at Bruff RFC where he played age-grade rugby for the County Limerick club before lining out for St. Munchin’s College in the Pinergy Munster Schools Boys Senior Cup.

At the end of the 2022/23 season, sporting all-rounder O'Riordan made his Energia All-Ireland League debut for Bruff, before representing UL Bohemian RFC in Division 2A through the 2023/24 campaign.

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Munster Academy player O'Riordan was sprung from the Munster bench with a quarter of Saturday night's URC interprovincial derby with Connacht to go and the young Limerick half-back contributed handsomely to the home side's fifth straight win in the competition this season

Afterwards Munster Rugby head coach McMillan said of O'Riordan: “I couldn't be prouder of the young man.

“I thought the risk when you're that young and you come in at such a pivotal time in the game is that you either overplay or underplay. Overplay, you start imagining things are there that aren't there, and when you underplay, you're shying away from the big moments.

“I thought that he just went out and just did his job, he was quick to rucks, and he was accurate. The boys really celebrated his first kick tonight. It was fantastic to see his family in there. They're all emotional, and it reminds you why you're involved in this game, to see families and players sharing that emotion and realising how special it is.

“Not many people get to pull on the jersey, and he's done it tonight, and on the evidence of that, he's got a big future ahead of him.”

Jake O'Riordan played age-grade rugby for Munster and Ireland, and was selected in the Ireland U20s squad for the 2024 Six Nations and World Rugby U20 Championship.

He has also impressed for the Munster Development and ‘A’ sides before making his Munster senior debut on Saturday night.

Munster Rugby back-row Jack O'Donoghue, who captained the side against Connacht, recalled the coaching O’Riordan had received from another Limerick man, former Ireland scrum-half and Munster-based National Talent Coach Tom Tierney, who passed away at the age of just 46 in February 2023.

O'Donoghue said: “He (Jake O'Riordan) would have worked a lot with the late Tom Tierney, and I think it's a credit to Tom, having a young lad like that come in and slip in seamlessly.

“He was quite emotional after the game because you remember someone like that who put a lot of time and effort into him. I'm delighted for him.”