No problem waiting for O’Connell, says O’Kelly

PLAYERS are well used to fretting over injuries, but sweating over someone’s else’s must be a new and altogether unnerving experience, even for the most experienced of pros.

For most of the past week, Paul O’Connell’s AC shoulder joint wasn’t far from the thoughts of Malcolm O’Kelly, Donncha O’Callaghan or Mick O’Driscoll. With good reason.

The immediate futures of all four depended on the few inches between O’Connell’s left clavicle (collarbone) and acromion (shoulder blade).

In the end O’Connell was passed fit and O’Kelly selected alongside him. O’Callaghan and Mick O’Driscoll are on the bench - the latter as a late, late call up following Johnny O’Connor’s groin injury.

“Paul’s very keen to be involved and all the rest of us just had to wait,” said O’Kelly. “I don’t have a problem with it. We just continued on with what we were doing. It won’t upset any of our preparations. We just prepared like we were going to start.”

O’Callaghan showcased Ireland’s strength in depth in the second row two weeks ago by slipping seamlessly into the shoes of his absent Lions colleague.

O’Kelly has partnered both Munster forwards - and is impressed.

“They’re two quite different players. Paul obviously offers you leadership. He’s quite a dominant type of character. Donncha is probably not quite as dominant but his work ethic is second to none. It’s hard to separate them that way. They’re two very good guys to have in camp. You couldn’t fault them.”

Rarely has the build-up to a Six Nations match, or any major rugby international for that matter, been dominated by both team’s respective second rows with the Scottish line-up of Scott Murray and Nathan Hines also making headlines.

Both are chosen ahead of Alastair Kellock and Scott McLeod, mainly for their experience. O’Kelly, who has faced the Scots eight times in a distinguished career, knows what to expect from his fellow veterans. “I’ve been up and down the park against them for years. I have a fair idea what they’re up to. They have three good second rows, so they have a good set-up. They’ve always been a very tricky outfit to win good ball against. They’re very solid.”

Back when the ink on the Six Nations fixture list was still drying, this game appeared to be pretty much a home banker. Scotland, since their capture of the last Five Nations in 1999, have lurched between the poor and the abysmal.

Yet the promotion of Frank Hadden to succeed Matt Williams seems to have changed all that and defeats of France and England have upped the ante considerably for Ireland, especially in light of the home team’s stuttering form.

O’Kelly, who had to withdraw from last summer’s Lions tour, doesn’t go along with the notion that the Scots are benefiting from their lack of tourists to New Zealand either.

“I think they’ve been building to this. Their defence has stepped up hugely. With the change of coach they’ve brought in a much more aggressive defence. That’s important at international level and they certainly stop teams from playing. That’s been a huge revelation from them this season.

“They work very hard. They certainly don’t lack anything in attitude. As long as they continue in that form they’ll give every team a run. They seem to be able to throw the ball around as well.”

Ironically, Scotland’s arrival in Dublin as the ‘in’ team of the Six Nations has taken some of the heat off the hosts who approach this weekend very much in the hunt for the championship but with public expectation and pressure a number of notches below last year’s sometimes delirious heights.

Any mention of Twickenham or England and a potential Triple Crown-championship winner-take-all showdown was uniformly waved away by the Irish squad all week.

But O’Kelly is adamant the pressure to achieve is as high as ever within the camp.

“You try not to focus on what the media says about you. The media’s job is to hype things up and get people buying the papers. If we were buying into what they were saying the whole time we’d be nervous wrecks. We’re putting the same pressure on ourselves the whole time. We’re going out to win a Triple Crown and Grand Slam every year. It’s another thing making that happen.”