Confident O’Connell ready for the fray

EDDIE O’SULLIVAN may have rated him only 50-50 yesterday, but Paul O’Connell is supremely confident that he will be fit to line out for Ireland against the Scots at Lansdowne Road this weekend.

The Irish coach is prepared to give O’Connell until tomorrow to prove he has finally shrugged off the last effects of the shoulder injury he picked up in Paris a month ago.

O’Sullivan’s caution is understandable. O’Connell looked odds on to make the Welsh match, after the troublesome injury showed considerable signs of improvement the weekend before that game.