He’s having the time of his life.
Paul O’Connell completed a tidy double, last night, when he took home the Rugby Writers of Ireland award for best player.
The Ireland captain, who is off to Toulon after the World Cup, added the RWI accolade to the IRUPA Players’ Player of the Year award he picked up in May.
O’Connell was joined by Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, and teammates Devin Toner, Marty Moore and Mike Ross at the Guinness Storehouse event.
Ireland picked up Team of the Year but that did not stop Schmidt from planning ahead. The New Zealander used his acceptance speech to promote this Saturday’s World Cup against Scotland.
‘Tickets, I must add, are available from all your usual outlets,’ Schmidt remarked.
O’Connell proved a popular winner on the night and he was in good spirits as he accepted another piece of silver/bronzeware for his mantle.
The lock was at a loss to explain how, at 35, he won the two coveted awards, as well as picking up the Six Nations’ best player prize.
‘Not having injuries helps,’ he quipped.
Talk, naturally enough, turned to the Rugby World Cup and Ireland’s chances.
While O’Connell told the Irish Independent before the event that ‘it would be fair’ to place Ireland with the tournament favourites, he was slightly more coy in front of an audience. Ireland, he stated, are in a good place and will be aiming for a best ever performance at the World Cup.
He commented, ‘Some of my best memories are at the World Cup… most of them are 2003, when I wasn’t even a regular.’
O’Connell added, ‘We’ve been quite good at playing under pressure in recent years mainly because we don’t get distracted by the enormity of some of the games. We have a big focus on what we’ve got to do each week and the pressure is almost more on knowing your role and performing your role than there is on the bigger distraction of the game or the consequences of the result.’
There was still time for O’Connell to be presented with a cap, from Diageo, for his services to the national team.
‘I hope it fits,’ O’Connell joked.
Snug.
