Johne Murphy: Osborne's move to fullback 'a stroke of genius' by Andy Farrell

Jamie Osborne's former coach Johne Murphy believes the 22-year-old has passed his test at full-back with flying colours against the Springboks, and says the selection was a 'stroke of geunis' by head coach Andy Farrell.

Osborne, who was uncapped at Test level before this summer, started both games against the defending world champions in the absence of regular 15, Hugo Keenan, who is away with the Ireland Sevens.

While the versatile Leinster back had played the majority of his underage rugby at full-back, he has only ever started two games for Leinster in that position, with the majority of his 48 appearances for the province coming in the centre.

The Kildare man scored a try in Ireland's first Test defeat in Pretoria, but was exceptional in the dramatic 25-24 win over the Boks at Kings Park on Saturday.

And Murphy, who coached Osborne at Naas RFC, says his emergence as an international level full-back is a major win for Ireland's depth chart.

"I thought he was going to end up as Garry Ringrose's successor at that 13 slot, but he’s probably going to move into that mould of a 13-15 space," the former Munster wing said on the RTÉ Rugby podcast.

"He was always very good in the air, a very good left boot. He has all the attributes, a big strong guy, all the attributes to be a top class 15 or 13. His versatility is going to be a good thing for him.

"From a depth chart perspective it’s a stroke of genius from Farrell. You have three guys, one right footer [Keenan], two left footers [Osborne and Jimmy O’Brien] that are there, that can fill that slot very seamlessly."

Bernard Jackman joined Murphy on this week's podcast, and said Osborne's calmness under a siege of contestable kicks from the South Africans in Saturday's second Test was