Ireland's Tommy O'Brien amazed by Stuart McCloskey 'NFL' tackle on Marcus Smith

Mid-way through the second half, Smith intercepted a loose ball in the middle of the pitch, and quickly set off across the Twickenham turf. Whilst the England fans expected the Harlequin to make it across the whitewash, McCloskey had other ideas. The in-form Ulster midfielder ignited the afterburners to bundle Smith into touch for a highlight-reel moment.

Having been spotlighted for his 'quarterback' style pass to Robert Baloucoune in Ireland's win over Italy, O'Brien shared how these latest efforts from McCloskey better resembled a defensive NFL star.

“He [Marcus Smith] burned Jamie [Osborne], I thought I was walking in under the sticks. Stu McCloskey was amazing We had been slagging him during the week for being a quarterback, but that was like a cornerback or a safety or something like that in the NFL, tracking him down.

"We didn't know he had those wheels in him but he's going to be living off that one for a while! He's on fire. He's getting better and better. I don't know what age he is now, 32/33 but he's in the prime of his life, I reckon.”

McCloskey was one of a number of Ireland players, who racked up double figures with arduous efforts on the defensive side against England. The centre made a stunning 14 tackles against Steve Borthwick's men, with O'Brien quick to hand McCloskey, and the hard-working forward pack, their well-deserved flowers.

"There was so many of them [McCloskey tackles]. Then you see all the forwards as well. They were doing unbelievable work behind the scenes, and so much dirty work. Every collision was being absolutely fired into, Caelan [Doris] was awesome. Joe [McCarthy] had a huge few big moments. Tadhg Beirne had a few big moments. To put a performance like that today, you need everyone to be putting in nearly eight or nine out of 10."

O'Brien was flung into the mixer earlier than expected, as the versatile back-three man was not selected to start in the match day squad. The Leinster speedster took a seat on the bench, before James Lowe suffered an unfortunate groin injury just 18 minutes into the match. O'Brien shared how he was chomping at the bit to bring the fight at the Allianz.

"“It's about where you just get thrown into it. Sometimes, you don't have time to think. I haven't been on the bench in a while. You forget that when you're on the bench, you're thinking of everything, watching everyone, seeing how they're getting on,

"Still, it's no fun sitting on the bench. Just being thrown into it, you don't have time to think about it. You just go in and start playing another game of rugby.”

O'Brien wrapped up his post-match discussion by revealing how this Ireland team needed this 'statement win', in what stands as their heaviest margin of victory over England at Twickenham. With a reported Irish attendance of 20,000 away fans, O'Brien was delighted to have the Green Army along for every step of a memorable win in the 2026 Six Nations.

"I think that's something we definitely don't underestimate, giving the Irish people these special days and how special it is to us to provide these special moments."

"We needed some sort of a statement win. Obviously, there was a lot of things better against Italy than France, but coming over here, getting a result like that is something special."

"[It is] So special. I know it's a bit of a cliche, but we really do have the best fans in the world. When you see how many people are in the stands, how happy everyone is, how proud everyone is to be Irish, that's unbelievable.”

1. Leinster centurion trajectory: Since debuting in 2019, O’Brien has become a regular for Leinster Rugby, racking up 60+ appearances across URC and Champions Cup competitions.

2. Strike-rate finisher: Despite playing primarily on the wing, he has averaged better than a try every three games at provincial level — an impressive return in a stacked backline.