There are not many people alive that know Paul O’Connell better than Ronan O’Gara.
The out-half was an established member of Declan Kidney’s Munster side when O’Connell made his provincial debut in 2001 and O’Gara got the chance to see the Limerick lock mature from a sprightly young stripling into a behemoth of world rugby.
O’Gara was there, tee in hand, when Paulie was handed his first international cap by Eddie O’Sullivan in 2002.
From then on, they were inseparable both on and off the pitch so it’s easy to understand why O’Gara would have taken O’Connell’s sooner-than-anticipated swansong harder than most.
Ireland’s top points scorer took to Twitter this afternoon to pay tribute to his former teammate and it’s all very heart-wrenching.
My sadness is tinged with absolute pride having spent 16 years with one of Rugby's greatest competitors.#gentleman #Leader #1ofakind
— Ronan O Gara (@RonanOGara10) October 13, 2015
