As befits his status as arguably Ireland's greatest forward, Paul O'Connell will become only the fourth Irish player to reach the milestone of 100 caps for his country when leading out his team against Wales in the Six Nations at the Millennium Stadium this afternoon.
It could hardly have been scripted better. Victory would set a new Ireland record of 11 wins in a row, and set up a tilt at only a third Irish Grand Slam (by beating all championship rivals in one season) against Scotland in Edinburgh next Saturday.
The ultimate team man, typically though, O’Connell played down his personal landmark at his eve-of-match press conference following the traditional Captain’s Run yesterday.
Shed a tear
Smiling at suggestions this rock of Irish forward play might shed a tear or two, O’Connell said: “No. I don’t think so. It’s one of those things where you’ll probably look back on it and it’ll be great, but I haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to it this week and neither has anyone in the camp.”
Emulating Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara and John Hayes as Ireland's fourth centurion, fittingly his first Ireland cap came just over 13 years ago in a try-scoring debut against Wales at Lansdowne Road. The ginger mop has receded over the years, and O'Connell admitted he has also changed as a player.
"I'm very different, I think back then I probably thought that I was like a David Wallace, could do anything, run through anything," he said in reference to his dynamic former Munster and Ireland team-mate.
“I’m very well aware that I can’t do that and I try and work hard for other people, try and look after my own role.”
O'Connell still hasn't decided whether he will call a halt to his illustrious career after the World Cup in England later this year or see out his current contract until the end of the 2015-16 season.
Big pull
“Look, I enjoy it more than ever and that’s the thing with thinking about, planning retiring; you need to make the decision and do it at the right time.
“You can’t hang on too long. It will be a big pull when it happens, when I was about 27 or 28 I honestly thought I’d retire at 31 or 32, because there were times when I was finding it hard, but now I enjoy it more than ever.”
His legacy will be enormous and he will leave quite a void.
"He has set the standard," said Simon Easterby, his former team-mate who played alongside him on that debut and is the current Ireland forwards coach.
Fortunate
“He is the benchmark for all the team but particularly for forward and lineout play. He’ll leave a legacy not just in Ireland but in the world of rugby. He still wants to be the best, and he’s competitive to the end. We’re all fortunate that we’ve watched him play and been part of his career.”
And he’s not finished quite yet.
