O’Connell To Undergo Surgery And Ruled Out Of RWC
Ireland captain Paul O’Connell suffered a significant hamstring injury during the 24-9 Pool D win over France and will undergo surgery this week.
Paul O’Connell will not play again at Rugby World Cup 2015 and his time out of the game will depend on the outcome of the surgery.
Leinster’s Mike McCarthy has been called up to the Ireland squad in place of the injured O’Connell. He will arrive in Cardiff today.
It is a hugely disappointing way for the Limerick man to end his international career. It was announced in June that he would be retiring from Test rugby after the World Cup, having signed a two-year deal with French club Toulon.
O’Connell played 108 times (99 starts) for Ireland, captaining his country on 28 occasions (17 wins/10 losses/1 draw). His eighth and final try came against England in last month’s World Cup warm-up game at Twickenham.
The former Munster and British & Irish Lions captain turns 36 next Tuesday. He retires as a three-time Six Nations winner (2009, 2014 and 2015) and also won a Grand Slam (2009) and four Triple Crowns (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009).
He toured three times with the Lions, captaining the 2009 team in South Africa and helping the 2013 side to win the Series in Australia, and played at four Rugby World Cups (2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015).
A natural-born leader, O’Connell skippered Ireland to Six Nations glory in 2014 and 2015 and fittingly received the Player of the Championship, IRUPA Players’ Player of the Year and Rugby Writers of Ireland Player of the Year awards last season.