Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Munster fullback Ben O'Connor.Ryan Byrne/INPHO 20-year-old O'Connor gets biggest Munster chance yet in Castlebar The former PBC fullback is making swift progress in professional rugby. 7.31am, 29 Mar 2025 Share options HE HAS SHOWN his promise for Munster in recent months and things take another step up today as Ben O’Connor gets his biggest start yet for the province. 20-year-old O’Connor has worn the number 15 shirt four times this season but there’s no doubt that today’s big URC clash with Connacht at MacHale Park in Mayo [KO 3pm, TG4/Premier Sports] is the most notable stage so far. The Cork man is still in Year 2 of the Munster academy programme, which he will compete next season before moving onto a development deal in 2026/27 and then stepping onto a senior contract in the 2027/28 campaign. That’s the plan but perhaps O’Connor will speed those steps up if he continues to make progress. Munster are certainly excited about his talent. Attack coach Mike Prendergast has already compared O’Connor to the legendary Christian Cullen. He has a way to go yet obviously, but anyone who has seen O’Connor play can understand why Munster have high hopes. He packs power and pace into his 6ft 2ins frame. He leaps explosively and moves fluidly. He’s a thoroughbred of an athlete. O’Connor is an instinctive player. Even if you didn’t know his story, you could probably guess that he’d be good at other sports. The Cork hurlers wish they had been able to keep him. O’Connor won an All-Ireland U20 medal with Cork in his final game of hurling in 2023, having captained his county to an All-Ireland minor title in 2021. The totemic centre back also helped his club, St Finbarr’s, to end their 29-year Cork senior drought in 2022. Even with all of that going on in hurling, O’Connor was shining on the rugby pitch. He came onto Munster’s radar in his last couple of years at Presentation Brothers College, Cork. Advertisement O'Connor place-kicked for PBC.Ken Sutton / INPHO Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO He first played rugby with Highfield RFC in his native Cork but hurling was the priority, and O’Connor didn’t play rugby at all in fourth year at PBC. When he returned the following season, he took off. O’Connor shone as a fifth year even as PBC lost the 2022 Munster Schools Senior Cup final against Crescent, then he was a sensational presence a year later as PBC beat Cork rivals CBC in the decider. The fullback was a dominant presence on both sides of the ball throughout that campaign, with his accurate goal-kicking impressing too. With O’Connor also playing for the Ireland U18s and U19s, Munster didn’t hang around in offering him an academy deal straight out of school. Though his love of Cork hurling made it a difficult decision, the shot at professional sport proved impossible to resist. Even while he was excelling with Cork, O’Connor’s love for the oval ball was growing in PBC, where head coach Ger Burke and ex-Munster centre Cian Bohane were big influences. Burke rates O’Connor as a special talent who has the temperament required at the highest level. When he was still in fifth year, O’Connor nailed a touchline conversion of his own try for PBC to beat CBC in the Munster Schools Senior Cup semi-finals. O’Connor joined AIL side UCC when he moved into college there, beginning an Arts degree, and Munster were impressed with his initial steps in senior rugby. He had only recently turned 19 when Graham Rowntree gave him his senior Munster debut off the bench against the Dragons in his native Cork in November 2023, with another replacement appearance against Ulster a week later. O’Connor was then trusted to come off the bench against Bayonne and Exeter in the Champions Cup before heading into Ireland U20s camp. He started all five games for Ireland at fullback as they finished second in the Six Nations with four wins, even fitting in another appearance for Munster during one of the fallow weeks. O’Connor continued to be a key man for the Ireland U20s last summer as they reached the World Championship semi-finals. O'Connor is a big threat with ball in hand.Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO Having made appearances against the All Blacks XV and Leinster earlier this season, O’Connor got his first Munster start in January as he wore the number 15 shirt away to the Dragons, scoring his first try for the province. Munster were encouraged and with the experienced Mike Haley and other back three players out injured, O’Connor has held onto that number 15 shirt since. There have been lots of glimpses of O’Connor’s athleticism in attack and under the high ball. Despite his youth, he’s well able to take care of himself in contact and can throw classy offloads. As with any young player learning the ropes in the backfield, there have been errors in pressurised positions, but O’Connor seems to have the ability to bounce back without delay. He continues to improve his decision-making, something the Ireland U20s worked hard on too. He regularly puts himself into promising situations with his individual attacking quality, so producing a more consistent end product is the next step. O’Connor’s talent has caught the eye of the senior Ireland coaches. He was included on the Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa last October, starting at fullback in the wins over the Pumas and the Cheetahs, impressing against the latter in particular. More recently, O’Connor was included in the Ireland A squad ahead of their clash with England A last month and though he didn’t feature in the matchday 23, that selection showed that Andy Farrell and co. believe he has the potential to kick on. And that’s the opportunity for O’Connor today in Castlebar. It’s a platform for the 20-year-old to show that he is ready to accelerate his burgeoning career. Murray Kinsella View 3 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “20-year-old O'Connor gets biggest Munster chance yet in Castlebar”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “20-year-old O'Connor gets biggest Munster chance yet in Castlebar”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. 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