Tag Archives: Donncha O’Callaghan

U Mad Bro?

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It’s only a matter of time before the word ‘embattled’ becomes synonymous with Irish coach Declan Kidney. He’s coming off the back of Ireland’s least successful Six Nations since the 2008 edition that caused Eddie O’Sullivan to hand in his resignation. Bringing an outgunned squad down to New Zealand for an end of season [well, end of the Northern Hemisphere season] three test tour against the world champion All Blacks is hard enough, but when you take into account the injury problems that are already mounting up – Paul O’Connell, Tommy Bowe, Stephen Ferris, Luke Fitzgerald, Tom Court and Isaac Boss are all out and would certainly have made the flight were they fit, and Munster’s Felix Jones would probably have travelled – then it looks like a ‘Tour From Hell’ scenario. Continue reading →

O’Connell Out, Irish Lineout Holed Beneath The Waterline

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O’Connell had another great game against France, and it turns out that he played half of the second half on one leg. He has been one of the three best players on the pitch for Ireland in every game thus far, and while some have raised a few questions over his decision-making as captain, his on-pitch performances have been of the highest calibre. He has been the standout second row in the tournament and has cemented his place as one of the best in the world – in The Mole’s list, there’s James Horwill of the Reds and Australia, Pato Albacete of Toulouse and Argentina and O’Connell of Munster and Ireland.  Continue reading →

Report Card: Second Row

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The Gold Standard.

Paul O’Connell: Paulie had a welcome return to fitness and form. He made it his job to go looking for James Horwill in the Australian match and nailed him a few times. As noted here before, second rows have a long shelf life and it’s not unreasonable to expect Paulie to have another World Cup in him. Benefitted from losing a bit of bulk and became more mobile. Still not a great ball carrier although he puts his hand up. Continue reading →