Paul O’Connell is testing the waters right now but he may not be far off making a big commitment.
It has been two years now since Paul O’Connell last played rugby but only 18 months since he officially hung up his boots. There was supposed to be a two-year finalé in the South of France, with Toulon, but the hamstring tear he suffered when leading Ireland to a World Cup quarter final ultimately ended his career.
Since then O’Connell has kept busy by doing some media work, promoting his book ‘The Battle’, pitched in with his business interests and community activities in Limerick, and still found time to do some coaching.
The former Munster and Ireland captain has found himself more and more involved in Munster’s underage set-up but, as of now, there has been no long-term commitment to a future in coaching. All that could change in 2018.
The Hard Yards caught up with Mike Prendergast, a friend and former teammate of O’Connell, and learned that the inspirational rugby star is enjoying his early experiences with coaching.
“Paulie saw, as a player, how much time he put into it,” says Prendergast, who is backs coach at Top 14 side Oyonnax. “When it came to doing his job, he worked so much around those 24 hours when he’d be on the pitch and he did even more off the pitch.
“He looks at coaching and it’s a long, long season and it takes up so much time. He sees that and he has done [those seasons] for a number of years.
“He’s got a young family now but I know, from speaking to him, that some days he’s up for it [coaching] and other days he’s not so sure. But it would be great to get him into the game, there’s no doubt about it. When you speak to him about the game, his approach is so intelligent and he has had so many huge experiences.
“He is not 100% sure yet but it is something [a decision] he’ll be making soon enough, because you can’t stay out of the game too long either… If he’s going to make the plunge it’s going to be soon. Whether it’s at home or abroad, I’m not too sure. It would be great to see him back involved as he has so much to offer to the game and he is so well respected around the world.”
O’Connell was said to have run the Irish lineouts for the latter part of his career and British & Irish Lions coach tipped him as a potential coach when he stayed on in Australia to pass on advice, after he had broken his arm in the First Test victory over the Wallabies.
Prendergast recalls O’Connell, his wife Emily and the couple’s children, paying him and Bernard Jackman a visit when they were coaching at Grenoble in March 2016. He says:
“They were over more on a family break, for 10 days, but he came in every day, sat down with us and went through training and the way we played with the [forwards implementing] the 2-4-2 system, which he had played under Rob Penney at Munster… The minute he arrived he had that massive respect of the players, and Paul is very approachable and an easy guy to get on with.
“The French guys and the lads of different nationalities were just bouncing ideas off him and having a general chat. He filled in very well, enjoyed it and got a good taste of it.”
Prendergast expects O’Connell will make a call, either way, on getting more involved in coaching in the next couple of months. We’d imagine there would be several clubs, provinces and countries vying for his services if he chooses the coaching path.
