Paul O'Connell

Lore & Background

O'Connell was born in Limerick, Ireland to Mick and Sheila O'Connell. He attended the Model School and Ardscoil Rís, Limerick where he initially excelled at swimming and only started playing rugby at the age of 16, playing for the school in the Munster Schools Senior Cup and representing Irish Schools in 1997–98 along with international teammate Gordon D'Arcy. He also played five consecutive games with the Ireland U21s with Donncha O'Callaghan as his second-row partner. O'Connell completed 3 out of 4 years of a Computer Engineering degree at the University of Limerick, before deferring the remainder of the degree to concentrate on rugby.

Reader's Guide

O'Connell made his debut for Munster on 17 August 2001, in a Celtic League fixture against Edinburgh. His Heineken Cup debut for the club came in a home fixture against Castres Olympique which Munster won 28-23. He started for Munster in their 2002 Heineken Cup Final defeat to Leicester Tigers on 25 May 2002. O'Connell made his debut for Ireland against Wales in the 2002 Six Nations Championship, starting alongside Mick Galwey and scoring a try.

He was part of the Munster squad that won the 2003 Celtic League, beating Neath 37–17 in the final. He scored two tries in a 35-12 victory over Wales in a World Cup warm-up game against Wales in August 2003 and was rewarded with a place on the Ireland squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He played against Romania, Namibia, Argentina and Australia in the pool stage, and the 43–21 quarter-final defeat to France. Munster won the last final of the Celtic Cup, defeating Llanelli Scarlets 27–16 in Lansdowne Road on May 14, 2005.

He was part of the Ireland team that won a Triple Crown in the 2006 Six Nations Championship, playing in a dramatic 24-28 victory over England to clinch the Crown. He was an integral member of the Munster team that won the 2005–06 Heineken Cup, scoring a try in the 19-10 quarter-final victory over USA Perpignan and playing a crucial role in defeating Leinster 30-6 in the semi-final and Biarritz Olympique 19–23 in the 2006 Heineken Cup Final.

Did You Know?

• O'Connell scored a try in his Ireland debut against Wales in the 2002 Six Nations Championship, but has no recollection of the first half after being knocked unconscious by Craig Quinnell's elbow.
• He scored the last international try at the old Lansdowne Road before it was demolished and rebuilt as the Aviva Stadium.
• O'Connell was the only Northern Hemisphere nominee for the International Rugby Board player of the year in 2006.
• He captained the British & Irish Lions on the 2009 tour to South Africa.