The mark of Paul O’Connell was his joy amid private gloom
Captain O’Connell would later spend the Sunday night in a Cardiff hospital, his World Cup and possibly career over after suffering a severe hamstring tear a minute before half-time. But in the immediate post-match aftermath, he was sporting the broadest of grins on a face that had every right to be etched with pain.
The time for that would come, no doubt, in later, more solitary hours but right then, as his team had clinched an epic 24-9 win to top Pool D and book a quarter-final with Argentina rather than the greater of those two possible evils New Zealand, the wounded warrior was putting squad before self.
A victory two years in the planning by Joe Schmidt and his coaching staff had been achieved and O’Connell was not going to ruin the moment with personal misfortune.
It was an experience on a day littered with memories to last a lifetime that will live with team-mate Rob Kearney.
“It is difficult, I felt awful for him but it was great to see the sheer delight on his face after the game in terms of what we’d achieved as opposed to feeling sorry for himself,” the Ireland full-back said of O’Connell yesterday.
“It was brilliant to see and a great sign of the man that he was able to put his own woes behind him and think of the team’s achievement first.
“He was just delighted, he was beaming from ear to ear. When you consider that he was so happy and ecstatic after the game and the pain he was in at half-time.
“It’s small little moments like that make changing rooms after games really special. I think at half-time, there was probably mixed emotions a little bit when you’re seeing your captain injured heavily and losing your out-half and your star man (Johnny Sexton).
“You’re filled with a huge amount of confidence as well when you see the likes of Ian Madigan and Iain Henderson come in too. Their contribution to the game had a massive effect on the outcome for us.”
It is O’Connell’s contribution, though, which will be sorely missed if he chooses not to stay with the Ireland squad as they enter the knockout stages of this World Cup, beginning with a quarter-final back in Cardiff against Argentina this Sunday afternoon.
The second row, who turns 36 a week today, has graced the Ireland jersey with distinction for 13 years and 108 appearances, and his influence on those around him through word and deed has only increased over the seasons.
Ireland team manager Mick Kearney yesterday morning refused to rule the captain out of the tournament but the writing was clearly on the wall.
“Paul O’Connell appears to have suffered a significant hamstring injury and was hospitalised overnight,” manager Kearney said. “He’s having scans later today to clarity the extent of the injury.”
If Sunday was to be the last time he led his country, O’Connell did more than his fair share to ensure it was a victory.
Flanker Chris Henry was an early second-half replacement for Peter O’Mahony, another key player who will take no further part in this great tournament after injuring knee ligaments, and he described the effect his captain’s pre-match speech had on its audience inside the Ireland dressing room.
“Paul spoke incredibly well in the changing room. He basically had everyone in tears before the match so it’s a brilliant day to be involved in and to top the group is an incredible feeling. Every player is just desperate to get him back because if that would be Paulie’s last outing in a green jersey it would be really, really sad.
“We talked about being clinical and taking our chances, all these buzz words but today we definitely knew it was going to take more from us and we needed to go deeper. The words he provided definitely got the best out of everyone. I feel lucky I was in that circle when he was able to speak. Amazing to be involved in.”
Will Toulon benefit from that kind of inspiration? O’Connell’s prospective move to the three-time European champions on a two-year contract may well now be in doubt as he faces a long road to recovery.
Loosehead prop Cian Healy suffered a similar hamstring injury in September 2014 which required surgery and took five months to rehabilitate before he played again. Will O’Connell, eight years Healy’s senior and the sufferer of several long-term injuries, have sufficient motivation to drag himself through another extended period of recovery when he was so close to retiring from playing completely before Toulon came calling?
That remains to be seen but whether he plays for Toulon or not, we definitely will not be seeing Paul O’Connell in the green of Ireland again and that is a cause for great sadness. Irish fans may have been on borrowed time with the Munster, Ireland and Lions legend but the prospect of another three games in the jersey, a quarter-final, semi and final to boot, was a tantalising one.
The players who remain fit and able must now get the job done without their captain and see Ireland through to a first World Cup semi-final appearance and perhaps beyond. You can bet they will doing it for Paulie. Equally, they will be certain that O’Connell will be cheering them all the way.
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