PAUL O’CONNELL has led the tributes to Cian Healy, Peter O’Mahony, and Conor Murray who have announced they are retiring from international action at the end of the Six Nations.
Leinster prop Healy and Munster flanker O’Mahony also intend retiring from club rugby at the end of the current season, while scrumhalf Murray will move abroad from Munster.
3
Paul O’Connell has paid tribute to Conor Murray, Peter O’Mahony, and Cian HealyCredit: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
3
Murray will move abroad at the end of the season while Munster teammate O’Mahony will retire from club rugby as well
3
Leinster’s Healy will also retire from club rugby at the end of the seasonCredit: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
And Ireland assistant coach O’Connell – who played with the trio before his own international retirement in 2015 – credited them for their service.
He said: “It’s been amazing in this era to stay playing for as long as they have, to stay as important to the teams they play in for as long as they have is probably the big thing.
“Some guys fade away, those guys have got better and better and more important in some ways.
“You just can’t beat experience sometimes, to have seen the picture so many times makes you better with what unfolds in front of you and those guys are particularly good at it.
“So the caps they’ve accumulated, big games, big moments, they’ve come back from injuries, they’ve come back from set-backs with their provinces and with Ireland and they’re a great example to the rest of the team.
“One of the big things they give us at the moment is how much they enjoy it, like it’s a nice thing when you’re a young player and you see an old player and how much fun he has when he’s in camp, even though it’s not new to him any more.
The trio are first, fourth and seven on the all-time list for Ireland appearances, and no player currently playing comes close, with Iain Henderson next with 85 caps.
Healy, 37, won the first of his record setting 136 caps against Australia in 2009 and has remained a fixture in the squad winning five Championships.
O’Mahony, 36, also retires having won five Championships to date and 112 caps since his debut in 2012. He also captained the side to last year’s Six Nations success.
And Murray has won 123 caps to date white also looking for his Six Championship success in his last hurrah with Ireland.
Matt Williams says Antoine Dupont ‘is like nothing I’ve ever seen’ ahead of Ireland vs France in Six Nations
The trio will likely all be in the matchday 23 against France on Saturday week as Ireland look for a win to stay on course for a Grand Slam.
And O’Connell declared that there are no new injuries with hopes that captain Caelan Doris can rejoin training next week after missing the win over Wales.
Jack Conan suffered a back injury in the Wales win and should be okay while Rónan Kelleher, who missed the Wales game, is back in training.
Tadhg Furlong (calf) is the only other absentee having missed the whole Six Nations to date, but O’Connell said he has not been ruled out of the France game.
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
