Murray Kinsella Reports from Sydney

FIRST THINGS FIRST, Paul O’Connell confirms he won’t be going for the Leinster head coach role next year.

He’s asked in jest, simply because he is a Munster man through and through.

“I’m not going for the Leinster job, for sure,” he says with a laugh.

Not that O’Connell being considered as a possible head coach in the future is a joking matter.

By his own admission, the former Ireland captain was reluctant to commit to full-time coaching in the first place. Indeed, after initial experiences with the Munster academy, the Ireland U20s and Stade Français, it seemed as if O’Connell might meander away from it. The spell in France was particularly unsatisfactory.

But any doubt about his future in professional coaching was ended when Andy Farrell convinced O’Connell to join his Ireland staff ahead of the 2021 Six Nations. 

O’Connell had a transformative effect on an Irish set-up that had been somewhat lacking his sheer attention to detail, love of analysis and focus on the ruck, as well as the finer elements of forwards play.

46-year-old O’Connell quickly became a right-hand man for O’Connell, as well as providing balance to the coaching team. And it has been a happy combination ever since.

O’Connell stepped up as interim head coach for last summer’s Ireland tour to Georgia and Portugal, having declined the chance to join Farrell’s Lions staff in Australia.

Every time you speak to O’Connell, you come away with the impression of a man who truly enjoys his work with Ireland. Farrell recently extended his contract as head coach until the end of the 2031 World Cup, so it’s natural to wonder what O’Connell’s plan is.

Paul O'Connell speaking in Sydney. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

The Limerick man’s current deal takes in next year’s World Cup and while it will be interesting to see if he fancies a head coach role at some stage, O’Connell is happy where he is for now.

“It’s great for Andy to get a contract of that length. We’d all love one of those,” says O’Connell with a smile.

“But I don’t look that far ahead. Honestly, when I’m here, I feel like I’m learning all the time. Every day, I never feel like I’m ready for something else. I’ve never had that feeling since I’ve been in the job.

“I’ve always had the feeling that I’m learning and getting better as a coach all the time, and because of that I don’t probably look so far ahead. 

“I really enjoy working with the team. The team means a lot to me. I really enjoy working with the coaching staff we have here. It’s just a pleasure to work for. We work really hard, but we have great fun as well.

“It’s not something I’d be looking to change any time soon.”

O’Connell will figure out the future when he’s out of camp in the coming months. When he’s in, he’s fully attuned to the challenge directly at hand.

And right now, that means helping to prepare the Ireland players to beat Australia in Sydney on Saturday.

This is the start of the new Nations Championship, which will conclude in November, but O’Connell isn’t thinking too far ahead.

“Just trying to win the next game and get better,” he says of Ireland’s focus. “It’s something we did in the Six Nations really well.

“We’ve been good at starting well. We haven’t started well the last two campaigns, but it’s something we’ve historically been really good at.

“We want to start well, and we want to win the next game. That’s as much as we’ve spoken about.

“Winning the next game is the focus of the tour at the moment.”

O'Connell enjoys his role with Ireland. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

O’Connell said the slow start against New Zealand last autumn in Chicago came with the challenge of so many of the Irish players being completely short of game time before that match.

The tough night against France in Paris at the beginning of the Six Nations was down to Ireland’s shortcomings, but O’Connell felt they were “unlucky in a few things” too, including the unusual occurrence of only getting their second penalty of the game in the 58th minute.

But he says Ireland are concentrating on things in their control. The Irish coaches have tightened up training time and the time spent in meetings, aware that the players are at the end of a long season and keen to ensure they’re fresh for game day.

This weekend’s game will see O’Connell and co. pit themselves a very familiar face once again, with Joe Schmidt now in his final campaign as Wallabies head coach.

The New Zealander was a big influence on O’Connell.

“It was an unbelievably enjoyable time towards the end of my career,” said O’Connell.

“I had some great coaches in my time, but I felt he was a proper teacher. You know, he applied teaching methods to his coaching. I was able to change habits, things that I’ve done all my life that I couldn’t figure out how to change.

“I suppose he taught us how to change them. He was so clear in what he wanted from the team and so clear in the language he used, and that allowed you to transfer it.

“He generally gives you a real good pathway. Then, if there was something he wanted you to be better at, he gave you a real good pathway in terms of how you might go about changing that habit, whereas some coaches would say, I need you to do this but you might have to figure it out yourself from there.

“He was very good at giving you the pathway to do that. So, yeah, he was brilliant and a big influence on me as a coach as well. I’d be trying to be as clear as him.

“It isn’t always as easy as he made it out. He had a way with words, in terms of very good at English and very good at putting little phrases together and things like that.

“But you’re trying to be clear in your language as a coach, and I probably would have learned that from him.”