Evan following in family footsteps as latest second-row to roll off the O'Connell production line 

FAMILY INFLUENCE: Evan O'Connell. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

Evan O’Connell isn’t the only kid pointed in the direction of a rugby club when he was still in pre-school but there was an air of inevitability about his path from there long before he turned into a strapping second row with the Munster academy and Ireland’s U20s.

His uncle you’ll have heard of, but Paul O’Connell isn’t the only blood relation in this picture. Evan’s father Justin was a lock in college and with UL Bohemians. His grandfather Paul hailed from Cork and played for Sunday’s Well before the switch to Limerick and Young Munster. No prizes for guessing what position he played in.