Donncha prepares for life without O’Connell

YOU only appreciate the respect in which Paul O’Connell is held when you listen to Donncha O’Callaghan and Mick O’Driscoll, who deputises for the injured Ireland and Munster second row over the next month.

The thumb fracture O’Connell picked up against Scotland rules him out of action for the next four or five weeks, making for an all-Cork axis in the Irish second-row in Rome today.

“I’m so gutted for Paul,” says O’Callaghan. “You know how much he prepares and how hard he trains for these big games. You meet him around the hotel this week and he’s upbeat but deep down you know he’s kicking himself.