Sometimes it’s just one thing that makes a guy stand out.

With Sean Edogbo, there were two things.

The first was this try for the Ireland u18s in April 2022.

Why is it notable? Well, for a start, it’s a 6’3 – at the time – forward running what is essentially a gigantic Sexton loop and finishing in the corner against two backs. That kind of thing sticks with you. Also the fact that he was from Cobh – a place I lived for many years.

Almost a year later, in January 2023, I got word on the AIL WhatsApp groups I was managing that Sean Edogbo, now out of school and playing senior rugby, had just scored an absolute scorcher for UCC against Old Belvedere. Just how good could it have been, I wondered.

Watch for yourself.

I remembered the name from the previous clip and also that this was Edwin Edogbo’s brother; Edwin had made his Munster debut in September 2022, just a few months prior.

Fellas who are 6’5″ and over 100kg aren’t supposed to be moving like this – I checked – and definitely not from just outside their own 22.

I was certain that Edogbo would be a cert for the Irish 20s season of 2023/24 and be a key guy in the U20 Six Nations 2024, but for whatever reason, he didn’t seem to be in Richie Murphy’s initial plans that season. He missed out on a few of the earlier camps but forced his way back into contention with two barnstorming performances for Munster Development against the Irish 20s side, and then for the 20s against Leinster Development a week or two later.

Edogbo was named in Richie Murphy’s Six Nations squad, and injury issues with Brian Gleeson saw Edogbo get an opportunity off the bench against Italy, where, once again, we got a Sean Edogbo Moment.

I remember watching this live and jumping off the couch when he got it in his hands. Based on what I’d already seen of this guy, it was a try already. Nobody was going to stop Sean Edogbo from there.

Sean made the Munster academy that summer, played a big role for the Irish u20s and finished his summer with a fantastic performance off the bench for Munster in a preseason loss to Gloucester, where he genuinely looked like the best player on the pitch.

I was at that game and, afterwards, got a chance to talk to then Munster head coach Graham Rowntree, who, when asked about Edogbo’s impact and the difference he’s made to his game, said;

“Athleticism. He has come back bigger. I think everyone had a double-take of him, he certainly came back bigger. That’s a testament to the work he’s been doing in the gym with our staff. He gives us something different – power, pace, athleticism, detail around his handling game, little tip passes, and sweep passes that he’ll get better at. He’s got a great lineout jump shape, and he’s as easy to coach as his brother, Edwin.” 

Munster lost that game comprehensively, so Edogbo was, naturally, about the only thing worth shouting about afterwards and that only grew when he went on the Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa a few weeks later.

Since then, Sean has played regularly for UCC in Division 1B of the AIL, Munster A and in the most recent Munster senior friendly against Leicester, where he scored a try.

From a potential perspective, I think Sean Edogbo can become a genuine game changer for Munster and Ireland in the next few years and, as soon as next season, start impacting URC level games at the very least. Sean Edobog will be 21 this year, and it feels like his first year in the academy has been mainly about building on his immense athleticism and getting him a ton of minutes and game exposure for UCC, all to roll into a big preseason from July 2025 onwards.

Munster have followed a similar path with Brian Gleeson, Evan O’Connell – two contemporaries of Edogbo at U20 level – and Ruadhan Quinn this season, where the focus has been gym work, conditioning and building on their core fundamentals while also gaining as much XP as they can in the AIL.

Playing URC level rugby week to week to week is about recovery, more than it is about building physical fundamentals so this year in particular, Munster have been placing a big emphasis on gym, training and activating that training in the AIL where the game is fast, but not too fast, hard hitting, but not physically overwhelming and high-level enough to build the pictures that develop game IQ properly.

When you’re playing URC week to week, it’s about keeping your head above water as much as anything else. It’s about surviving, not learning, for younger players.

So what can we expect from Sean Edogbo next season?

An incredibly physically imposing half-lock power forward who has the engine and pace to balance out very heavy pack builds. We also can’t separate Edogbo’s future usage from what new boss Clayton McMillan likes to use at the Chiefs. If we look at the guys McMillan used in his back row this season, Sean Edogbo scans right onto the same type of role as Samipeni Finau, Simon Parker and arguably Naitoa Ah Kuoi; lineout dominant forwards who can carry through the line but have that x-factor of athleticism about them.

Sean Edogbo is listed at 6’5″ and 105kg, but I’d put him closer to 110kg this season, maybe a little more.

As you’d expect, he’s imposing with the ball in hand. He might not be as quick as he was when he was 18, but the power and explosiveness he has now more than make up for it. He can still more than keep up with backs in any straight line race.

But he’s far more durable and “heavy” in the contact zone than what he was even in his 20s year.

This is a great example from last weekend’s game against Highfield in the AIL. It’s fine to be making ground in U20 games against teenagers – it’s another story entirely to make hard yards against grown men on the heavy ground of 1B.

He’s been doing this all season, and usually across the full 80 minutes as part of a really expansive UCC attacking structure. Even for Emerging Ireland, he was used as a primary ball carrier off the lineout and off #9 to really good effect.

UCC have used Edogbo in that role too when he’s been more involved with Munster training and hasn’t been as active with their lineout schemes during the week. When he has been on a decent run with UCC – as has been the case now that Munster’s injury crisis in the forwards has eased – he’s used as a primary offensive and defensive jumper all the way through the line.

He was used as a tail jumper for Emerging Ireland earlier this season, but that showed his athleticism at the same time. Once he’s in the scheme, he’s got the spring to get after any ball that comes his way and when used fully, can be a nightmare counter-jumper in defensive scenarios.

The days of having a non-lineout dominant back five players are coming to an end – and with it, the end of the small forward, but that’s for another time – and Edogbo is the perfect expression of a player who can roll all those jobs into one.

He’s tall and rangy enough to be a primary outlet at the lineout, while also having the pace and lateral coverage of a smaller, lighter man. His defensive profile fits everything from pillaring up, leading the line, playing as a mid-line defender and even covering edge spaces in certain scenarios. He tackles quite high and he’s got the power to slow and stall almost everyone he encounters, within reason.

He can track rucks across the field offensively and has a great rugby IQ for knowing where and when he’s required to make an entry. When he makes those entries, he hits heavy.

Sean Edogbo is the exact type of young player that Clayton McMillan has integrated into his Chiefs side over the last few seasons and I think next year you’ll see an awful lot of him as part of a very young, incredibly hard-hitting Munster back five.

Just like his brother, Sean Edogbo has the kind of physical power matched with excellent coachability and IQ to be exactly what Munster and Ireland are looking for in the next three seasons.