After 108 caps and 13 years O’Connell’s glittering worldwide stint is over, his final act in Ireland’s green to bash the Millennium Stadium turf in agony after suffering his tournament-ending blow against France on Sunday.
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Joe Schmidt has moved to replace his talismanic leader with Leinster’s Mike McCarthy, with Jamie Heaslip assuming the captaincy.
Ireland’s attention has turned swiftly to the fate of flanker O’Brien, man-of-the-match against France, who appears before a disciplinary official on Tuesday for hitting lock Pascal Pape 23 seconds into the French game.
Sexton is awaiting a scan on a groin problem but Ireland’s management said initial clinical assessment was “encouraging” and they were hopeful he would be able to play in the quarter-final against Argentina.
Scotland, meanwhile, could be without hooker Ross Forde and lock Jonny Gray for their last-eight tussle with Australia after being cited for risky tackles against Samoa.
While Ireland’s strength in depth came to the fore in the second half on Sunday and Iain Henderson represents a tailor-made replacement for O’Connell, the departure of Ireland’s inspirational captain was described as a “monumental loss” by fullback Rob Kearney.
Ruddock added: “Argentina have scored over 20 tries already in the tournament, they’re looking to play rugby and they’ve got the footballers to do it now”.
“We’re not going to go through it if we give the ball away like Sunday and if we spend our time defending”.
Unable to walk, with searing pain shooting up his leg, Paul O’Connell was “beaming from ear to ear” – even though his World Cup and Test career were shot to pieces. “If we can use that as inspiration, then we will”.
“His time out of the game will depend on the outcome of the surgery”, the Ireland team said in a statement.
“The players have an idea as to why, I have an idea and I imagine you the press also have an idea”. “I feel good, I feel strong and in a good place”. I won’t get into too much more detail about it but the whole weekend was about meaning more.
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Sexton’s absence would be a major setback – he is arguably the best No. 10 in Europe – but Ian Madigan showed in his superb display against France that Ireland has a strong alternative at flyhalf. A hundred per cent. We’ve lost people before, but this is a bigger thing than usual. “I wish him well in his recovery but I hope he’s back on the rugby field again, even if it’s not in an Ireland shirt”.
