22-year-old Paul O'Connell expressed his surprise and delight after being handed a surprise Ireland debut for Sunday's Six Nations Championship opener against the Welsh at Lansdowne Road. O'Connell, in his first year on the Munster team, will prove a danger for the Welsh side if he gels with row master Mick Galwey as well for Ireland as they do for Munster.
But the rookie could not be in safer hands than Galwey's. "He's been very good to me," O'Connell said of his captain. "He's looked after me in different ways around the hotel, from people trying to set me up with tricks and jokes. I'll be grand on the pitch, though."
Galwey had no hesitation in backing up that last statement and said: "Paul definitely doesn't need looking after on the pitch. He leads by example and he's been a breath of fresh air for everyone this year. This is his first season and he's got on great. There's plenty of competition in the Munster front row with the likes of John Langford, Mick O'Driscoll and Donnacha O'Callaghan and he's managed to fight his way through."
O'Connell has been as surprised as everyone else by his rise from relative obscurity. At the beginning of the season the Young Munster club man's major ambition was to earn a contract with Munster. However, O'Connell has jumped ahead of Ulster's experienced lock Gary Longwell for the right to replace Malcolm O'Kelly in the Irish second row - but revealed: "I was surprised to be on the 22 initially - but when I heard I'd been picked I was absolutely delighted.
"To get on the Munster team was my main ambition so after that everything else has been a bonus. It's unfortunate for Malcolm but it's worked out for me luckily and now I've got my chance....When I do something I tend to take it very seriously and train hard at it," he explained.
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
