Born and bred in Limerick, second row Paul O'Connell was an accomplished swimmer in his youth and represented Irish Schools at rugby in 1997-98. He made his way into the senior ranks with Young Munster (the club), Munster and Ireland at a time when Mick Galwey, Peter Clohessy and Keith Wood were nearing the ends of their careers. He learned from them but was also expected - unreasonably perhaps - to take on their talismanic mantle in his early 20s.

O'Connell made his Test debut with a try against Wales in 2002 and by the time he toured with the British & Irish Lions to New Zealand in 2005 he was being hailed as a new Martin Johnson (though Brian O'Driscoll, not O'Connell, was the captain). The horrendous line-out performance in the first Test was made worse because Ireland's hooker Shane Byrne had been picked to provide a tried and tested link with O'Connell, and it set the tone for abject displays up front throughout the series. O'Connell's face, lashed with rain and twisted in questioning anguish when a mixed-up line-out presented a try to the All Blacks in Christchurch, was an apt image for the tour.

O'Connell did, though, achieve the distinction of playing every minute of the three Lions Tests, apart from a 10-minute sin-bin stint. The first half of the following season was disrupted when he broke a thumb in September 2005 and missed Ireland's autumn series which included tame defeats to New Zealand and Australia. Another absentee was O'Driscoll after the shoulder injury he sustained on Lions duty.

Both men returned for the 2006 Six Nations Championship, on the back of Munster reaching the Heineken Cup quarter-finals with a win over Sale Sharks which featured O'Connell tackling Sébastien Chabal and driving him 20 metres backwards. Ireland won their second Triple Crown in three seasons, with O'Connell as captain against Scotland but he was also skipper when they lost to France in Paris after allowing the French a huge lead. Munster won the 2006 Heineken Cup, defeating Biarritz in Cardiff; in 2002 O'Connell, aged 21, had started in the final defeat by Leicester. In November 2006 he was the only northern hemisphere nominee for IRB player of the year (won by Richard McCaw).

Another Triple Crown followed in 2007, with O'Connell named Man of the Match in the 43-13 thrashing of England at Croke Park, but he was captain again for a defeat by France on the same ground. It was said that Ireland were put off their game by the emotion of playing at 'Croker' which arguably reflected poorly on O'Connell's leadership.

He steered Munster to Heineken Cup glory in 2008 but greater success would follow in 2009 when he played a key role in Ireland's historic Six Nations Grand Slam triumph. His performances were rewared with the captaincy of the 2009 British & Irish Lions for their tour to South Africa - becoming the 10th Irishman to lead the elite tourists.

O'Connell led the Lions in all three Tests in South Africa but it was ultimately in a losing cause as the tourists lost 2-1. The lock received some criticism from the media for his role on tour, but within the camp the captain was highly regarded.

On returning from South Africa, O'Connell endured a difficult season as a post-Lions hangover affected Munster and Ireland. The lock played his part in Ireland's draw against Australia and victory over South Africa at Croke Park, but a disappointing defeat in Paris saw Ireland lose their grip on the Grand Slam and they finished the campaign with another defeat at home to Scotland.

By the time Munster's season came a cropper at Biarritz their captain was no longer available as he had been struck down with a mystery groin injury. O'Connell's prognosis was initially difficult to ascertain and although he was named in Ireland's tour party for New Zealand and Australia, the second-row was unable to travel.

Eventually the diagnosis was that of a groin infection, ruling the player out until December 2010. He returned to pre-season training in August and ended the 2010/11 season by leading Munster to the Magners League title following their victory over rivals Leinster in the Grand Final at Thomond Park. And after being named in Declan Kidney's 30 man squad for the World Cup, O'Connell showed signs of being back to his imperial best with a storming performance against the Wallabies in Auckland. In December of that year, with Brian O'Driscoll ruled out with a shoulder problem, O'Connell was confirmed as Ireland skipper for the 2012 Six Nations.