Paul O'Connell on…
“The thing with Tommy is — and I know him a long time — it took him a long time to break through at Munster. He’s a great example to any young player to just keep the head down. He’s worked his socks off when it comes to training and when it comes to his lifestyle. The other 20 hours away from the training field, Tommy would be the ultimate professional in that regard. That’s one of the reasons everyone feels for him because it’s recognition of how hard he’s worked. The shape he was in was phenomenal. He’s a special type of athlete, he played incredibly well against Wales but that’s the game and the sport. I spoke to him [on Sunday] and he accepts that it’s part and parcel of games, sometimes you’re unlucky. He has a tough rehab ahead of him but there’s no doubt he’ll be back.”
“Unless the pools are being drawn for the World Cup any time soon it’s irrelevant for us. It’s one for the fans more than the players, other than that period when the seedings are done. All those things are a distraction.”
“There’s been some fantastic rugby played and at some really high intensity. They’re in a different situation to us where they’re coming off Super Rugby into Test rugby and it’s been impressive rugby, very physical rugby, and it just shows where we have to get up to just to be in a World Cup.”
“New Zealand will always be the front runner. I think they gave up two of the softest tries they’ll ever give up last weekend and I can’t see that happening all too often again between now and the World Cup.”
“Australia have had incredible potential for years and now Michael Cheika has really brought it forward. They’ve a brilliant talent from one to fifteen and all across their bench, too. We see the likes of the guys who came off the bench at the weekend; they’re getting better and better.”
“The teams like Fiji, Tonga, Samoa — they’re all spending time together now that they don’t usually get. Argentina are benefiting from their time in the Rugby Championship. We saw that in their first ever win over South Africa. The potential of teams that can win it and do damage is increasing with every World Cup.”
“They’re incredibly well equipped in terms of experience and ability. You look at Conor: He’s been on a Lions tour and experienced other coaches. They’ve both been in the Ireland set-up and worked with Joe Schmidt who’s one of the best coaches in the world.”
“It does appeal to me sometimes, other times not so much. It’s a tough lifestyle and very hard to balance if you’ve got a young family. That’s the biggest challenge. It does interest me but I’ve a little bit of playing in me yet.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
