O’Connell hails Ireland’s own Captain Fantastic

FOR quarter of an hour yesterday, Paul O’Connell was a picture of boredom at the Irish team’s press conference.

With one hand propping up his head and the other doodling on hotel notepaper, he resembled a bored kid in maths class.

He wasn’t alone.

With nothing in the way of injury news to report and Warren Gatland yet to launch a verbal assault on the Irish like the one he unleashed last year, the build-up to the weekend’s action has still to catch fire.

Then the discussion turned to Brian O’Driscoll and the 100 caps he is set to earn this Saturday against Wales in Croke Park and, suddenly, the Munster captain was fully engaged and talking at length.

Like John Hayes prior to the England match, O’Driscoll will be inundated with tributes and congratulations in the week to come but few, if any, will come from a source more qualified.

“It’s incredible. He talks a lot about people leading by example and that’s what he does more than anyone. Your best player very often isn’t your greatest defender or your greatest tackler, but Brian’s biggest strength has been his defence and his ability to poach on the ground.

“He takes unbelievable punishment for a guy who would be considered a flamboyant player. He takes unbelievable punishment in the tackle and the ruck. For a team, it’s inspiring and it’s a great way to lead.”

O’Driscoll and O’Connell have been the twin pillars on which Eddie O’Sullivan and Declan Kidney have built this Irish team but the 30-year old lock was happy to heap the majority of the credit onto the man chosen ahead of him as captain.

“He’s set a standard for players across the board. He’s a complete player and that’s what everybody aspires to be, the complete player both in defence and attack. That’s what Brian does for us.

“Irish rugby struggled in the 1990s and we play with a lot more confidence now. A lot of that has come on the back of Brian’s play and his own attitude.”

That upsurge in the fortunes of the national team has been encapsulated by their ability to attract full houses to the 82,000 capacity Croke Park in the three years since Lansdowne Road closed for business. Much has been said about the benefits and drawbacks of the venue but Ireland’s record at their temporary home has been remarkably similar to how they fared in Ballsbridge before the demolition crews moved in.

Ireland’s last dozen games at Lansdowne produced nine victories and three defeats. In their 12 games so far at Croke Park, Ireland have won eight, lost three and drawn one, with two more games to come, against the Welsh and Scotland.

“We’re coming to the end of our time in Croke Park and it will be a big motivation to finish on a high there,” said O’Connell. “We have two games left in the Six Nations, both at home, and we’re hoping for a good run in. But it’s going to be a tough challenge.”

Wales are the one Six Nations side yet to taste defeat on Dublin’s northside and the Limerick forward admits that memories of Ireland’s defeat there in 2008 will add to the home team’s motivation this weekend.

That said, O’Connell played down the rivalry between the two countries which Gatland did so much to stoke in 2009 and he stuck to the party line in claiming that the Welsh had been unlucky thus far in the tournament. For all their problems, including intercepted scores, Wales have been claiming their fair share of tries and their commitment to a mobile, fast-paced game is currently greater than Ireland’s.

O’Connell said: “Looking back at the English game I felt we were quite comfortable at times.

“It was good to score three tries in Twickenham. If we can score three tries again this weekend we know we’ll be in a very good position.”