Paul
O'Connell

Paul O'Connell is a giant of Irish rugby and a coach with the national team. Discover all about his career with RugbyPass, your resident rugby gurus.

Paul O'Connell Bio

Paul O'Connell is a legend of Irish rugby. When he finished his career with the national team in 2015, he was Ireland’s third most-capped player. During his lengthy career, he also captained Munster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. He is now the forwards coach for the Ireland national men’s team. Paul O'Connell was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.

Born 20 October 1979, Paul O'Connell spent most of his youth swimming and only started playing rugby seriously at the age of 16. However, he still represented Ireland at under-age level.

In 2001, Paul O'Connell made his debut for Munster. Between 2001 and 2015, he made 178 appearances for the Irish province. During his time with the side, he won the PRO14 (then known as the Celtic League and the Magners League) three times, the Celtic Cup once and the Heineken Champions Cup twice.

In 2015, Paul O'Connell left Munster and signed for Toulon. However, due to injury, he never played for the French side. This meant that, when he retired, Munster were the only domestic side he’d ever represented in his senior career.

As well as enjoying a successful career with Munster, Paul O'Connell was a dominant force for Ireland. Between 2002 and 2015, he represented the national team 108 times and helped them win the Six Nations Championship on three occasions, including a Grand Slam win in 2009.

Thanks to his impressive performances for Ireland over the years, Paul O'Connell was selected for three British and Irish Lions tours. On these tours, he was capped seven times and was a series winner in 2013.

Sadly, in 2015, Paul O'Connell was injured playing at the Rugby World Cup with Ireland. Following this, he was forced to retire based on medical advice.

Since his retirement, Paul O'Connell has enjoyed a career as a coach and a pundit. In 2021, he joined the Ireland national team as a forwards coach. He’s also previously worked as an advisor to the Munster Academy and as a coach with Ireland U20 and Stade Français.