Two intense, steely, inspirational captains and proud Munster men. We don’t know how we did not make the link before.
Paul O’Connell faced the media this afternoon at the Ireland Captain’s Run in the Millennium Stadium.
Ireland scrum coach Greg Feek was by his side but, on the eve of his 100th Ireland cap, the bulk of questions fired out over 15 minutes were directed at the Munster lock.
The most striking question of the session momentarily took O’Connell aback. He was asked if he saw any comparisons between himself and former Manchester United and Ireland captain, Roy Keane
‘I don’t know about that,’ O’Connell replied. ‘Crikey.’
‘Look, I’m very competitive, that would be my biggest strengths. I certainly can’t run over people or unlock defences with my footwork, or whatever, but I’m certainly very competitive.
‘I enjoy being part of a team and helping drive teams on, trying to make them successful and trying to get the best out of people. I’ve always enjoyed a leadership role whether I’ve been captain or not. It’s a part of my personality that has featured in my rugby for most of my career.’
The Limerick man concedes that, physically, he is not the same player as he was in his prime – ’25 and 26′ – but feels a fastidious quest for improvement has kept him at the top of his game. He said:
‘I’ve been interested and motivated in training, rugby training or weight training or fitness or meetings or video analysis. It’s never been a chore for me.
I think that happens to some guys maybe towards the end of their careers, it becomes a chore for them. It’s never been a chore for me; I’ve always enjoyed it and I still enjoy it. I enjoy it more than ever and that’s probably one of the reasons I’m still playing.’
Asked about his memories of the cavernous, daunting [for visiting sides] Millennium Stadium, O’Connell said, ‘Some good and some bad ones.
‘It’s a fantastic stadium. I was jogging across the pitch with Jordi Murphy today… he’s never played here before and when he came out he looked around and thought it was an incredible stadium straight away.’
‘I suppose a lot of us are very experienced so it’s quite rare that you hear someone saying that,’ O’Connell added. ‘It’s rare to go to grounds like this and guys behind you haven’t played there before at some point or another.’
O’Connell has won two Heineken Cups at the stadium but the Grand Slam win, at the same venue, in 2009, is the one he cherishes most.
‘I genuinely thought we’d lost it towards the end of the game,’ he admitted, ‘and I was over the moon when the kick came up short and we’d won it.’
