Paul O'Connell retires: Former Ireland captain ends playing career on medical grounds
O'Connell's contract at his club Toulon has been terminated without him playing a game for the Top 14 side.
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Your support makes all the difference.If Paul O’Connell’s decision to end his playing career in the south of France with free-spending Toulon had been wholly driven by an interest in his own pension pot, only the most flint-hearted rugby follower would have condemned him: in the rich history of Irish provincial union – and the wild-west annals of Munster in particular – precious few players had given more of themselves, for longer, than Paulie.
Throw in the small matter of the 108 games he played for his country, and the three Six Nations titles he won (the first of them in Grand Slam style) – not to mention a trio of British and Irish Lions tours and a major contribution as captain on the trek to South Africa in 2009 – and it is reasonable to argue that he was, and remains, worth a whole lot more than a monthly cheque for services rendered.
O’Connell’s purpose in leaving Limerick for the Côte d’Azur was about something other than money, of course. He rather fancied being only the sixth man – and the second Irishman, after his Test colleague Eoin Reddan – to win a European title with different clubs.
He was also intrigued by the prospect of joining a rock-star squad engaged in one of the bolder rugby experiments of modern times: namely, the attempt to prove that a bunch of overseas internationals can regularly recreate the spirit of togetherness that is common to more close-knit, blue-collar, locally sourced teams. Like Munster.
It is a sadness to report that O’Connell’s southern sojourn has ended without ever beginning. The most successful Irish second-row forward since Willie John McBride has failed to recover from the comprehensively torn hamstring he suffered during his country’s World Cup pool match with France last autumn, and has declared himself an ex-player at 36.
“Since sustaining the injury I have been fully focused on returning to fitness and starting an exciting new chapter for both myself and my family in Toulon,” he said. “Unfortunately, this will no longer be possible. It is with deep regret that I have decided to retire from professional rugby on medical advice.”
O’Connell added that he had yet to decide whether to move into coaching or pursue a career in the “real world”. Whatever the outcome of that discussion with himself, he can reflect on 14 years well spent in the red shirts of Munster and the Lions, and in the green of his nation. He was, by each and every account, one of the very best.
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