article_snippet: Professionalism has been the key to the former shelf-stacker’s longevity, although the Irishman has not always been surrounded by such healthy company.
article_snippet: When Paul O'Connell of Ireland speaks to the squad during the week of his debut in 2002 the hairs on the back of your next stand up.'
article_snippet: ‘I was woken by the smell of cigarette smoke in my nostrils every morning,’ recalled a laughing O’Connell.
article_snippet: The Claw” used to have a cigarette the moment Paul O'Connell of Ireland woke up.
article_snippet: Gatland was said to have ‘the intellectual properties of a tub of Flora’, although O’Connell holds the Kiwi in much higher regard.
article_snippet: ‘For as long as I can remember we’ve being trying to poach ideas from Warren Gatland,’ said O’Connell.
article_snippet: Leigh Halfpenny is a master at limiting the space to kick into.
article_snippet: Picking the right moments to challenge will be pivotal; a responsibility that falls on the shoulders of Alun-Wyn Jones and Paul O’Connell.