Evergreen Paul O'Connell can still scale new heights ahead of notching his 100th Ireland cap in Saturday 's pivotal RBS 6 Nations showdown in Wales , according to Sean Cronin . Veteran lock O'Connell will equal Mick Galwey 's record as Ireland 's oldest captain of all time at exactly 35 years and 145 days at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday . The Munster talisman will become just the fourth star to hit 100 Tests for Ireland , joining Brian O'Driscoll , Ronan O'Gara and John Hayes in the century club . Sean Cronin believes veteran Paul O'Connell ( above ) still has a long career ahead of him . Leinster hooker Cronin hailed O'Connell 's 'intensity and physicality ' as the crux of Ireland 's relentless pursuit of ever-higher standards under taskmaster boss Joe Schmidt . 'It 's a phenomenal achievement : I think he 's getting better with it even as the years go on , ' said Cronin , as Ireland look to home in on a second Grand Slam in six years this weekend . 'But he 's the kind of player that , whenever he 's playing , he nearly makes you play better because that 's the enthusiasm , the passion , the physicality that he brings . 'He kind of instils that in the players around him , it 's great to play under him . 'He sets the standard and you 've got to get up there with him . 'He 'll demand it off you one way or another , so it 's great to play with a person like that , because it raises your standards as well . ' O'Connell will equal Mick Galwey 's record as Ireland 's oldest captain of all time on Saturday . O'Connell will stride past a multitude of milestones in Cardiff this weekend , as he aims to mark his 50th Six Nations performance by setting Ireland a new winning Test run of 11 matches . Wales and Scotland block Ireland 's path to Grand Slam glory and a third career Six Nations crown for O'Connell . As the teams complete preparations in the Millennium Stadium 's bowels this weekend , O'Connell will launch into a trademark tub-thumping team talk . Cronin acknowledged the legend around O'Connell bringing team-mates to tears with his unbridled pre-match passion - but admitted the Munster stalwart 's rhetoric far more fearsome than emotive . The 35-year-old is put through his paces during an Ireland training session at the Kingspan Stadium . ' I 've nipped out a couple of times to dot the eyes during his talks ! ' joked Cronin of myths O'Connell can invoke raw emotions . 'No , but seriously , he scares me more than makes me cry to be honest with you . 'He brings a certain level , you see him doing it , his intensity , physicality , attention to detail . 'So when you see him doing that , you 're saying to yourself ' I need to get to that as well ' . 'If 15 or 23 lads get to that level , we 're hard to beat . 'He 's similar to Joe ( Schmidt ) in some ways . 'Paul is n't going to get to the heights of Test rugby that he has without hard work and accuracy . 'He 's got great influence on the squad , the lads buy into that and he 's fantastic to have around . '
Paul lock will equal Mick ##ey 's record as rugby 's oldest captain . Veteran lock will take to the field for 6 consecutive match against Wales . captain Cronin believes O'Connell is getting better with age .