Seán O'Brien has new perspective on the game after his brother's injury hell

Munster's Seán O'Brien says he has a new appreciation for his career after his brother's injury-enforced retirement.

The Mullingar native joined Munster from the Exeter Chiefs this season, and is the younger brother of former Leinster centre Conor, who was forced to retire at the the age of 26 just over a year ago due to a persistent hamstring injury.

And Seán, who came through the ranks at Connacht before spending two years at Exeter, says his older brother's injury struggles have put the game into perspective.

"It happened so fast. His was a little bit different, it was a culmination of injuries as opposed to one big one," he says of Conor's retirement.

"Every time he got a big injury, I was like, 'He'll come back from it, and he’ll be back to how he was.’

"And then when he made the decision to retire, I was like, 'Wow, this can happen to anybody’.

"It makes you appreciate playing that little bit more. I don’t take it for granted anyway but that opens your mind to it a little bit more."

O'Brien's move to Munster came as a surprise, with the 25-year-old having been a regular in the Exeter squad since he joined the Premiership side in 2021, starting for the Chiefs in their Champions Cup last-16, quarter-final and semi-final games last season.

The versatile centre says that while his return to Ireland came sooner than he had expected, he jumped at the chance to link up with Munster.

"When the opportunity came up I would have been stupid to say no.

"When I was moving to England I wasn't going with the intention of staying forever. I'd probably planned staying a little longer but when the opportunity to come to a club like Munster pops up you can’t say no," added O'Brien, who won six caps for Ireland U20 in 2018 alongside future