McGeechan and Phillips hail ‘immense’ O’Connell

LIONS captain Paul O’Connell came in for high praise yesterday from coach Ian McGeechan and scrum half Mike Phillips for his leadership capabilities.

Said McGeechan: “Paul was immense. On the field he led by example, and off it he managed to say all the right things at the right time, he kept things ticking over brilliantly through the last few weeks.

“They were tough times after losing the first two games, but Paul’s attention to detail, his belief in the players and in our ability to rise from the ashes was unwavering.”

Phillips rowed in behind McGeechan when he said: “Paul’s influence from the very first day was massive, incalculable. I view him as the best second row in the world and I think he proved it on this tour against top players. He’s the kind of guy you want beside you when you go into battle.”

Even those outside the camp were able to gauge the excellent spirit that existed within this Lions squad and Ireland’s Rob Kearney revealed everything fell into place within 48 hours.

“It’s hard to put a finger on it but the people chosen for this tour were obviously chosen on personality as well as playing ability. I couldn’t believe how quickly everyone fell in together and I think the spirit was defined by this end of tour performance.”

Kearney had mixed emotions from the tour. “I was gutted (after the two defeats), but winning the third is some consolation, particularly the way we won it. OK, a few things had to go right for us but I felt we were entitled to a few breaks in this one,” he said.

Kearney said he was delighted for O’Connell. “The effort he put in throughout the last seven weeks was immense; this win was as much for him as for ourselves; it was for Brian (O’Driscoll), Jamie (Roberts), Gethin (Jenkins) and Adam (Jones) too,” he added. “It would have been easy to throw in the towel once the series was lost. We could have allowed that to happen but this squad was never going to be humiliated; that special bond simply wouldn’t allow that to happen.

“Everyone was aware of our responsibility to those who couldn’t participate through injury, to our captain, coaches and management and, especially, to players of the past who upheld the honour and traditions of the Lions so well over the years. Losing wasn’t an option.”