And having joined Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams in picking up the ultimate honour in club rugby in the northern hemisphere, Tom O’Flaherty is hoping to double up with Exeter Chiefs by adding the Gallagher Premiership title at Twickenham this weekend.
Last weekend’s European winner’s medal from the win over Racing 92 already sits alongside his two Daily Mail National U18 Schools titles, the WRU National Cup winner’s medal from 2015, when he was in the Bridgend Ravens side that beat Pontypridd at Principality Stadium, and an Anglo-Welsh Cup winner’s medal from 2018 with the Chiefs.
The 26-year-old Lambeth-born, former Cardiff University student has come a long way in a short time. It may have been a rather circuitous route to the top, but for now at least the sky seems to be the limit for the flying Chiefs wing.
From being a highly rated scrum half at Dulwich College, he played for Blackheath, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Montpellier Academy, Bridgend and the Ospreys before signing for the Chiefs in 2017. He held off the challenge of former Wales and British & Irish Lions wing Alex Cuthbert to play in last weekend’s showpiece final at Ashton Gate and is hoping to do the same on Saturday.
Exeter’s Tom O’Flaherty searches for a gap in the Racing defence. (Pic: INPHO/Rogan Thomson)
“I’m happy I’ve taken an unconventional route to the top of the club game because I’ve gotten to experience more than just rugby,” said O’Flaherty.
“I think new experiences and different environments are good for life generally and playing in different positions has definitely helped me develop as a rugby player.”
After making his mark at college level, he got his chance with Cardiff RFC towards the end of 2013, scoring four tries in as many matches. Then came the move to Bridgend, where he scored 18 times in 25 games in 2014-15.
That campaign culminated in the Ravens lifting the SSE SWALEC Cup, with O’Flaherty claiming the match-winning try in the 19-15 win over a Pontypridd side containing future Welsh internationals Tomos Williams, Dillon Lewis and Jarrod Evans.
See Tom O’Flaherty’s match winning try below:
He spent the following season in France, combining a university placement with a stint in the rugby academy of French Top 14 side Montpellier, but returned to Wales for the final year of his studies, taking up joint registration with Bridgend and the Ospreys.
In his first four games for the Ospreys, he scored four tries, including a double as a sub against the Blues at the Arms Park, stimulating interest in his services from other clubs and adding further fuel to his ambition to try to earn a living out of the game.
“I really did enjoy living and playing in Cardiff my first couple of years at university. Then I moved on to Bridgend. I was just enjoying playing with my mates and nothing was too serious,” he added.
Tom O’Flaherty celebrates after scoring a try for Bridgend against Pontypridd in the 2015 SSE SWALEC Cup final
“The Welsh Premiership was quite a physical league at times and, as a youngster, I suppose it just toughens you up. You learn to become more physical and fill out.
“I learned a few good lessons in the Ospreys environment. It went quite well for me there and gave me a springboard that ultimately led to the Chiefs noticing me.”
It was while he was at Cardiff that he switched positions after taking a speed test. He scored four tries in four games for the Blue & Blacks at the end of the 2012-13 season before moving on to the Ravens.
“I did quite well over 40 meters and the jump tests, so one of my coaches decided to play me on the wing and it worked out quite well,” he said.
Joining him in the quest for a ‘double’ will be Wales prop Tomas Francis, who became the 13th Welsh player to win the Heineken Champions Cup when he came on as a second half replacement. This will be his fifth Premiership final.
