Bernard Jackman says he's looking forward to seeing the impact Paul O'Connell will have on the Ireland team that plays Wales in the Six Nations on Sunday.
O'Connell, who won 108 caps in green, was appointed as Andy Farrell's forwards coach last month having worked in a similar role, but on advisory basis, in last year's campaign.
The iconic O'Connell's voice will be an influential one as the coaches attempt to convince Farrell on selections that may favour their area of influence over another.
Ahead of the start of the new campaign this weekend, Jackman tells the RTÉ Podcast that head coach Farrell will be listening to all of his staff to get the balance correct.
"If Paul has a say in selection it's hard to think he wouldn't be looking for Tadhg Beirne at 6, Iain Henderson, James Ryan, and Peter O'Mahony at 7," says Jackman.
"That would be a phenomenal attacking lineout, and also defensive lineout. And that's one of the areas that Paul's going to be measured (in).
"That's always the case. No more than John Fogarty (scrum coach) would be pushing for the best scrummaging props, and Simon Easterby (defence coach) pushing for the best defensive players.
"It's up to Farrell to listen to all the different cases that are being made and try and pick the best combination."
After a successful period which saw them claim three Six Nations titles in five seasons, including a Grand Slam in 2018, Ireland have recorded back-to-back third place finishes over the last two campaigns.
Jackman sees a huge focus being placed on improvements in the lineout.
"There'll be huge focus on our lineout, on our lineout calling," he continues.
"I heard Iain Henderson say a couple of weeks ago that Paul was ringing him two or three times a week, sending him clips, just getting him ready for going into camp.
"I'm sure he was doing the same for the other locks as well. That's probably something we've lacked is a real understanding of where the opportunities are, where the space is, and trying to predict what the defence are going to do. So I think there'll be big focus on that.
"Our lineout maul, I was critical of some of our decision making in the Autumn (Nations) Cup where we just seemed to kick to the corner out of habit, without having shown real sophistication or strength in our lineout maul, which had been a big strength for Ireland.
"Paul is very detailed on that, so we may be able to take advantage of kicking to the corner and being able to score from it. In the Six Nations that's massive, where there's very little between the teams.
'He's in charge of the breakdown now. By all accounts he's a disciple of the Joe Schmidt philosophy at the breakdown, which did give us quality ball and made us very hard to get the ball back off.
"That hasn't always been the case in the last year and a half, and probably in Joe's last year - we weren't as accurate there as we would like.
"Probably his ability to influence our performance there could have a huge impact on our attack as well.
"It's not going to be fixed overnight, but I do think we'll see a real focus in those areas and hopefully it pays off and we see some gains."
Paul O'Connell hopes he can have an fast impact on Ireland's lineout #RTERugby #RTESport #WALvIRE More here https://t.co/j78gn4aMHi pic.twitter.com/3W07cnWJiA
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) February 3, 2021
Looking ahead to the Wales game, Jackman believes that any influence O'Connell might have on the starting line-up will reflect the potential Welsh threats on Sunday.
"It's not totally selfish around wanting to have 100% lineout stats," he points out.
"It's saying that there's going to be a lot of kicks to touch because Wales kick it out. We're going to have more lineout opportunities in the attacking half. It's more important this week that we go with a stronger lineout selection.
"Likewise for Wales they're going to have the conundrum of Jake Ball starting or off the bench with Adam Beard. John Humphries, the forward coach, will have to give his opinion - Wayne Pivac will have to decide where he goes.
"Those conversations held on a Sunday night are invaluable to every member of the coaching staff to understand everyone else's point of view, and to try to come up with the best possible compromise.
"I think with Andy Farrell, his character is that he's not a dictator. He will lean on his support staff to come up with selection.
"There's plenty of other coaches who will give the team to the coaches and tell them to go prepare their players this week.
"In Ireland definitely, it's a shared responsibility."
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Follow Wales v Ireland (kick-off 3pm) on Sunday via our live blog on RTE.ie and the News app or listen live on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport. Highlights on Against the Head, Monday at 8.10pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
