O’Connell Discusses Toulon Move
14th July 2015 By Munster Rugby
The Ireland squad gathered in Galway this morning for an open training session at the Sportsground, and in the afternoon Paul O’Connell took centre stage at an exclusive fan event in discussing his upcoming move to Toulon and revealing the new Irish World Cup jersey.
The Irish captain will join the Top 14 side following his commitments with Ireland at the 2015 Rugby World Cup where he will make his final appearance in the green jersey.
The initial contact from Toulon came through a former Lions colleague with Toulon S&C Coach Paul Stridgeon asking O’Connell if he would be interested in joining.
After turning down the initial offer, the second-row considered the move further after discussing it with his wife Emily. He then entered into formal discussions with the club once his Munster commitments finished after the PRO12 Final.
“I chatted with Emily a little bit about it. The body at the time was feeling really good. I just said to them, ‘Look I would be interested but I can’t talk to a club while I am playing for Munster unfortunately, but if you are willing to wait until the summer I’ll certainly talk to you and look at doing something.
“I went down about two weeks after the PRO12 final and agreed to join them.”
“It’s an opportunity for me to do something different. It’s a great opportunity for me from a rugby point of view, and from a lifestyle point of view.”
The Limerick native departs Munster after 14 years in which he won two Heineken Cups, three League titles and a Celtic Cup. He was also squad captain from 2007 to 2012 and made a total of 178 appearances for the province, scoring 19 tries.
O’Connell’s departure from his native province was confirmed at the start of June with Munster Rugby CEO Garrett Fitzgerald commenting at the time, “In wishing Paul all the best for the future I would like to acknowledge the outstanding role he has played within Munster Rugby.
"Over a 14 year career with the province, Paul has epitomised what it means to wear the red jersey, and through his own hard-work, commitment and leadership he has become an iconic figure in world rugby.
"A truly great ambassador for the province, he has been the standard-bearer of this team for over a decade and everyone around him has reaped the benefits of his professionalism and dedication."
"We would like to think this is not the final chapter in Paul's Munster story, and we would welcome future opportunities to work with him again.”
