Fit again O’Connell is Eddie's man
The Irish coach admits that having to tell Leo Cullen he was out of the squad entirely represented "one of the most difficult discussions of my life." Nor did he feel good when informing Donncha O'Callaghan, who made a big impression when coming on as a sub in Cardiff, he would instead be involved with the A side this week.
However, it is clear that O'Connell was always O'Sullivan's ideal partner for Malcolm O'Kelly once all things were equal. Which, for most of this season, they were not. O'Connell is a giant of a man, 6' 6" tall, 17 stone plus in weight, invariably fit as a fiddle but with an unfortunate propensity for picking up injuries at the wrong time.
So Cullen and O'Callaghan, not to mention Gary Longwell, moved ahead of him in the pecking order and the Young Munster player had no good reason to expect a return to favour on Sunday having had just two games since January 3.
O'Sullivan, however, has no worries about this call, saying: "Paul was in great form before he was injured and at that stage was very close to being in the side. Since then, he has worked very hard on his rehab, has two games under his belt and now we feel he is the right option on the bench."
O'Connell is an unassuming, fair- minded 23-year-old, whose first thoughts were for Cullen and O'Callaghan.
"It's great to be back but it's really tough on Leo and Donncha," he said. "I suppose I'm getting in on the coat tails of all the hard work the lads have done."
O'Connell's troubles in 2002 began on the plane journey home from New Zealand at the end of the Irish tour last June. As a result he needed an operation on his back and didn't resume playing until December.
"I played four games against Connacht, two against Viadana and one against Ulster," he said. "However, in the Ulster match I broke the base of my thumb. It's been unbelievably frustrating, but you have to try and put a positive spin on things. When I had the back injury, I got another chunk of my UL computer engineering course out of the way.
"I was supposed to be out for eight weeks but it went on for 10. Then two weeks ago, I played for the club against Dolphin and to be honest, it didn't go great. I struggled a bit."
However, that match must have done O'Connell a lot of good because he was a different man when starring for Munster in the game against Scottish Borders. "That game went very well and I was happy enough with it, a few mistakes obviously, but I was getting closer to where I wanted to be. I had been up most weeks with the Irish squad for fitness training with Mike McGurn. Then on Sunday night
Brian O'Brien asked me to come up and on Wednesday I heard I was on the bench.
"I had kept up my levels of fitness. What I wasn't used to was taking knocks, although Mike, Fergal O'Callaghan and I had tried to simulate that by doing a lot of downs and ups and hitting tackles bags, rugby-orientated fitness if you like.
"I had expected to be involved with the As so I was as shocked as everyone when the announcement was made. I thought I might be here as cover, I wasn't sure, but luckily I'm now involved in the 22 for what promises to be a huge day."
O'Sullivan and O'Brien haven't said as much, but the near certainty is O'Connell will be introduced as an impact replacement for Gary Longwell some time around the hour mark. O'Connell is hedging his bets.
"The coach mightn't be too enthusiastic about making changes, especially if it's a tight game. I have come from being out injured for a long time to sitting on the bench. I'm not going to say I'm happy with that, but I'm not hoping for anything. What happens, happens. If I get a run, well and good, if I don't, it won't get me down, especially if the team wins. That's the main thing."
O'Connell clearly isn't scared by the prospect of playing or of taking on Martin Johnson and company on Sunday should the opportunity present itself.
"They're an awesome side, probably the best in the world after winning something like 20 matches in a row. But hopefully we're getting there and are not too far behind," he said.
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