Paul O'Connell
Encyclopedia
Paul O'Connell is an Irish
rugby union
player who plays lock for Munster
and Ireland
. He also captained the British and Irish Lions
on their 2009 tour to South Africa.
before moving on to represent Munster, Ireland and the Lions. O'Connell has completed 3 out of 4 years of a Computer Engineering degree at the University of Limerick
, deferring the remainder of the degree in order to concentrate on rugby.
against Wales
in the Six Nations 2002, scoring a try
. He was a part of Ireland's
Rugby World Cup 2003 squad, and, in the first game of the Six Nations 2004, against France
, he was stand-in captain for the injured Brian O'Driscoll
. He toured with the 2005 British and Irish Lions to New Zealand
, where he was one of only two Lions players to play every minute of all three Test matches, bar the 10 minutes he spent in the sin-bin. After a period of absence due to injury in the early part of the 2005–06 season, O'Connell returned to the Munster side to play an integral part in his side's march to its first Heineken Cup
final since 2002, and also helped Ireland win the Triple Crown
captaining the sides which played France & Scotland.
Shortlisted for the International Rugby Board
player of the year and the only Northern Hemisphere nominee. The other four nominees were New Zealand
fly half / out half Dan Carter
, fellow All Black openside flanker
Richie McCaw
, Australian
fullback Chris Latham
and South African
scrum half Fourie du Preez
. McCaw was the eventual winner.
More recently, O'Connell again took over from an injured O'Driscoll as Ireland captain in their historic match against in the 2007 Six Nations
, the first rugby match ever at Croke Park
. O'Connell was awarded the Man of the Match
accolade following Ireland's historic (and record breaking) 43–13 win over England at Croke Park
during the Six Nations Championship
. He also captained Munster to victory in the 2007-08 Heineken Cup
and the 2008–09 Celtic League.
He scored the last ever International try at the Old Lansdowne Road
before it was demolished and rebuilt as the Aviva Stadium
.
He was a member of the victorious Ireland team that won the 2009 Six Nations Championship
and Grand Slam
On 21 April 2009, O'Connell was named as the British and Irish Lions
Captain for the 2009 tour to South Africa
. He played in all 3 Test matches, first with Alun Wyn-Jones and then with Simon Shaw. He played in all of Ireland's 2009 November Test matches against Australia, Fiji and South Africa. O'Connell missed Ireland's first two matches of the 2010 Six Nations due to injury, but returned to play England, Wales and Scotland. He missed Ireland's 2010 Summer Tests due to a groin injury that became infected,and also missed the Autumn Tests. He made his comeback for Munster against Cardiff in December, and made his Heineken Cup comeback against Ospreys a week later, only to be sent off and banned for four weeks. He came back against Toulon and London Irish and was selected in Ireland's 2011 Six Nations squad, playing against Italy, France, Scotland, Wales and England.
O'Connell injured ligaments in his ankle during the Munster-Leinster Magners League match on the 2nd April, and was out for four weeks, making his comeback against Harlequins on April 30, 2011.
He captained Munster to victory over Leinster in the 2010–11 Magners League Grand Final, and was selected in Ireland's 2011 World Cup training squad for the warm-up tests in August. He played in both tests against France, captained Ireland in their final warm-up Test against England and was selected in Ireland's 30-man squad to go to New Zealand, receiving the Man of the Match award against the USA.
Paul O'Connell went to the Model School Limerick when he was a child.
O'Connell became a father to a baby boy on the 15th of April 2010. The baby was born just before midnight on Thursday 15 April at the Mid-Western Regional Maternity in Limerick and weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs 10 ounces. He has been named Paddy O'Connell.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player who plays lock for Munster
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
and Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
. He also captained the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
on their 2009 tour to South Africa.
Early life
O'Connell was a star swimmer when he was younger, starting his training with Seal Swimming club under the watchful guidance of Jim Riordan and Jerry Ryan before moving on to the Limerick squad. O'Connell attended the Model School, and Ard Scoil Ris in Limerick and played rugby under Des Harty's tutelage, representing Irish Schools in 1997–98 along with current international teammate Gordon D’Arcy. He also played five consecutive games with the Ireland U21s, with Donncha O’Callaghan as his second row partner. He also represented Young Munster R.F.C.Young Munster
Young Munster is a Rugby union club based in Limerick, Ireland. It was founded in 1895 and plays its games at Tom Clifford Park in Rosbrien, Limerick....
before moving on to represent Munster, Ireland and the Lions. O'Connell has completed 3 out of 4 years of a Computer Engineering degree at the University of Limerick
University of Limerick
The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...
, deferring the remainder of the degree in order to concentrate on rugby.
Rugby career
O'Connell made his debut for IrelandIreland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
in the Six Nations 2002, scoring a try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
. He was a part of Ireland's
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
Rugby World Cup 2003 squad, and, in the first game of the Six Nations 2004, against France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
, he was stand-in captain for the injured Brian O'Driscoll
Brian O'Driscoll
Brian O'Driscoll is an Irish professional rugby union player. He is the current captain of the Ireland Rugby team and captained Leinster Rugby until the start of 2008 season. He also captained the British and Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand...
. He toured with the 2005 British and Irish Lions to New Zealand
2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand
In 2005 the British and Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing 7 tour matches against first and second division clubs from the National Provincial Championship series, 1 tour match against the national New Zealand all Māori club, and 3 official test...
, where he was one of only two Lions players to play every minute of all three Test matches, bar the 10 minutes he spent in the sin-bin. After a period of absence due to injury in the early part of the 2005–06 season, O'Connell returned to the Munster side to play an integral part in his side's march to its first Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
final since 2002, and also helped Ireland win the Triple Crown
Triple Crown (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...
captaining the sides which played France & Scotland.
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
player of the year and the only Northern Hemisphere nominee. The other four nominees were New Zealand
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
fly half / out half Dan Carter
Daniel Carter (rugby player)
Daniel William "Dan" Carter is a New Zealand rugby union player.He is currently the highest points scorer in test match rugby and is regarded as one of rugby's greatest ever fly-halves.-Early life:...
, fellow All Black openside flanker
Flanker (rugby union)
A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
Richie McCaw
Richie McCaw
Richard Hugh "Richie" McCaw is a New Zealand rugby union player, and is the current test captain. He plays in the openside flanker position for the New Zealand, Crusaders and Canterbury rugby teams...
, Australian
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
fullback Chris Latham
Chris Latham (rugby player)
Chris Latham is an Australian rugby union player, who played fullback for the Worcester Warriors, following a long career with the Queensland Reds and Australia....
and South African
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
scrum half Fourie du Preez
Fourie du Preez
Petrus Fourie du Preez is a rugby union player. His position of choice is scrum half. Du Preez plays for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup competition in South Africa and the Bulls in the international Super 14 competition...
. McCaw was the eventual winner.
More recently, O'Connell again took over from an injured O'Driscoll as Ireland captain in their historic match against in the 2007 Six Nations
2007 Six Nations Championship
The 2007 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
, the first rugby match ever at Croke Park
Croke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
. O'Connell was awarded the Man of the Match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
accolade following Ireland's historic (and record breaking) 43–13 win over England at Croke Park
Croke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
during the Six Nations Championship
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
. He also captained Munster to victory in the 2007-08 Heineken Cup
2007-08 Heineken Cup
The 2007–08 Heineken Cup was the 13th edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby.The start of the tournament was delayed because of the 2007 Rugby World Cup...
and the 2008–09 Celtic League.
He scored the last ever International try at the Old Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
before it was demolished and rebuilt as the Aviva Stadium
Aviva Stadium
The Aviva Stadium is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 50,000 spectators. The stadium is built on the site of the old Lansdowne Road venue, which was demolished in 2007, and replaces that stadium as home to its chief tenants: the Irish rugby union team and the...
.
He was a member of the victorious Ireland team that won the 2009 Six Nations Championship
2009 Six Nations Championship
The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2009 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the tenth Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams...
and Grand Slam
On 21 April 2009, O'Connell was named as the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
Captain for the 2009 tour to South Africa
2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa
The 2009 British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour which took place in South Africa from May to July 2009....
. He played in all 3 Test matches, first with Alun Wyn-Jones and then with Simon Shaw. He played in all of Ireland's 2009 November Test matches against Australia, Fiji and South Africa. O'Connell missed Ireland's first two matches of the 2010 Six Nations due to injury, but returned to play England, Wales and Scotland. He missed Ireland's 2010 Summer Tests due to a groin injury that became infected,and also missed the Autumn Tests. He made his comeback for Munster against Cardiff in December, and made his Heineken Cup comeback against Ospreys a week later, only to be sent off and banned for four weeks. He came back against Toulon and London Irish and was selected in Ireland's 2011 Six Nations squad, playing against Italy, France, Scotland, Wales and England.
O'Connell injured ligaments in his ankle during the Munster-Leinster Magners League match on the 2nd April, and was out for four weeks, making his comeback against Harlequins on April 30, 2011.
He captained Munster to victory over Leinster in the 2010–11 Magners League Grand Final, and was selected in Ireland's 2011 World Cup training squad for the warm-up tests in August. He played in both tests against France, captained Ireland in their final warm-up Test against England and was selected in Ireland's 30-man squad to go to New Zealand, receiving the Man of the Match award against the USA.
Personal life
O'Connell announced on the Late Late Show on 29 January 2010 that his girlfriend Emily was six months pregnant with their first child who was subsequently born the following April. Paul and Emily have been together since he was 20.Paul O'Connell went to the Model School Limerick when he was a child.
O'Connell became a father to a baby boy on the 15th of April 2010. The baby was born just before midnight on Thursday 15 April at the Mid-Western Regional Maternity in Limerick and weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs 10 ounces. He has been named Paddy O'Connell.