Paul O'Connell: World Cup pre-season offers Ireland chance to experiment

The squad will come together on June 19th, a full twelve weeks before their opening game against Romania in Bordeaux, and O’Connell, who joined Farrell’s coaching ticket in 2021, can’t wait to get going.

PRIMED AND READY: Ireland assistant coach Paul O'Connell. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Long-term planning isn’t new to Paul O’Connell. 

The Ireland assistant coach was still cutting his teeth on that side of the chalk with Stade Francais when he put in most of the hard yards for the International Rugby Experience that opened this week in Limerick.