No fairytale ending for Paul O'Connell as Toulon left reeling

Shock was the overriding emotion on the Cote d’Azur as Paul O’Connell announced his immediate retirement from the sport he has graced so magnificently over the last 14 years.

The Munster man was Toulon’s marquee signing last summer in the pack, one of the so-called ‘Fantastic Four’ recruited by club president Mourad Boudjellal, along with American Samu Manoa, New Zealander Ma’a Nonu, and Duane Vermeulen of South Africa.

La Provence, the main Mediterranean newspaper, described the news of O’Connell’s retirement as “an immense blow”, while Var Martin, Toulon’s local paper, called the announcement “incredible”.

In truth, there had been an inkling on Monday morning that the former British and Irish Lions captain might never be seen in a Toulon shirt when Midi Olympique, France’s rugby newspaper, revealed that the European champions were looking to recruit a second-row on a short-term contract.

In reporting that Samu Manoa suffered a knee injury in Friday’s exhibition match against the Natal Sharks at the Stade Mayol, the paper added that O’Connell was scheduled to have another scan on his leg this week.

Clearly, Toulon feared the worst, although Boudjellal appeared to have been caught off-guard by the timing of O’Connell’s announcement.

“We’ve not yet had the medical results,” he told La Provence. “But if this document has officially confirmed that Paul O’Connell can no longer play rugby, he can no longer play.”

There was no disguising Boudjellal’s disappointment, the Toulon president admitting: “It’s a heavy blow to lose a player of this calibre... for him and for us.”

The club has struggled this season, both domestically in the Top 14 and in defending their Champions Cup crown, and Boudjellal had been counting on O’Connell to boost the squad in the business end of the season.

“The World Cup has cost us dear,” he said. “We’ve lost four players because of this competition.”

Leigh Halfpenny, Matt Giteau, and Frederic Michalak have barely played a match between them this season and now the Toulon faithful will never get the chance to see Ireland’s greatest ever forward in action.

“C’est la vie,” was the reaction last night of Bernard Laporte, Toulon director of rugby. “The first thing is that I’m sad and disappointed for him. He really wanted to play for Toulon but the World Cup decided otherwise.”