O’Connell’s lead for Reds

Munster chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald is hopeful Paul O’Connell’s decision to commit another two years to the province will help persuade others such as Keith Earls there is a bright future for the men in red.

In another huge boost for Irish rugby, national team captain O’Connell, 34, put pen to paper on a two-year contract that will keep him with the side he led to the 2008 Heineken Cup until the summer of 2016, thereby completing his 15th season with his home province having led his country into the 2015 World Cup in England.

“I am delighted to sign a new IRFU contract and to continue playing with Munster for the next two seasons,” O’Connell said. “Over the years I have been privileged to play in many fantastic Munster sides and as we build for the future I am excited by the prospect of playing my part in achieving success with Munster and Ireland in the coming seasons.”

The Limerick lock follows Munster team-mates including Conor Murray, Donnacha Ryan and long-serving second row partner Donncha O’Callaghan, as well as Test colleagues Sean O’Brien and Rory Best, in deciding to stay in Ireland rather than take up potentially more lucrative offers overseas and Fitzgerald is hoping O’Connell’s statement of intent will convince others, including the soon to be out of contract Earls, to follow suit.

“It’s significant because he’s in the twilight of his career and he will always want to be successful and win trophies and the fact that he has decided to spend the next two years with Munster is a huge boost for the younger players in that he believes they can help him achieve what he wants to achieve,” Fitzgerald told the Irish Examiner.

“I think it will [have an influence on out of contract players], without any doubt. I suppose some of the younger second rows might be quietly saying to themselves it mightn’t be a bad idea if he went somewhere else but they know what they’re dealing with and they listen to everything that he says and watch how he trains and consequently how he plays and it will certainly be very important for them to realise that if he’s doing this then they must be in the right place and that Munster is a good place to be and that they’ll be looked after and coached properly.”

Earls, 26, has been linked with a move to English Premiership side London Irish but the Munster chief executive hinted an agreement with the Ireland and Lions wing may not be too far away.

“It takes time to resolve all these matters. When you have a large number of people out of contract you can only concentrate on a certain number of people at a certain time to give them the time and attention that they need.

“All players are treated equally but Keith is a hugely important player who’s aware of what we would like him to do and the IRFU have made him aware of where they would like him to be but he’s entitled to take his own time to consider his options.

“But I’m sure, hopefully, that will get sorted out in the very immediate short-term.”

In the meantime, Fitzgerald was happy to lead the chorus of approval at O’Connell’s new IRFU contract, despite the three-time British & Irish Lions tourist and 2009 captain having attracted interest from overseas.

“It’s a big boost for us that Paul has signed up for a new two-year deal. I was aware of the fact that other clubs had shown an interest in him but I think once Paul had negotiated a deal that he was happy with I felt that he wasn’t going to be going anywhere, and we’re delighted about that.”

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, who handed O’Connell the captaincy through to the 2015 World Cup last November and awarded the Munster lock his 88th cap in the Test with New Zealand last time out, said he was delighted with his skipper’s form heading into the RBS 6 Nations, having played a pivotal role in his province’s qualification for the Heineken Cup knockout stages.

“It’s great for us, it’s a boost,” Schmidt said. “There’s a number of guys that have played well and Paul O’Connell is the man who leads the team so for him to be out front, doing the job, it’s fantastic.

“And there’s good news about him continuing here in Ireland over the next couple of years and that’s a good indication of where he’s comfortable and he’s doing what he does best, that is perform well on the field.”

Munster head coach Rob Penney, himself out of contract at the end of the current campaign, said of O’Connell’s new deal: Paul has contributed so much to Munster Rugby over the years and remains one of the best second rows in world rugby. His experience and leadership will play a key role in the future development of this young Munster squad.”

As for the Munster coaching team’s futures, chief executive Fitzgerald said talks were set to commence now that a quarter-final place had been secured, Penney leading his side to a home draw having topped Pool 6 with five wins from six.

“There was an agreement that we would look at that once the pool games in the Heineken Cup were over, so we agreed with all the management that what was happening on the pitch would the priority.

“So that’s something that we will look at in the next few weeks.”

As to finding a resolution, Fitzgerald said with a chuckle, “I’m always positive that there’s a resolution to everything.”