Paul’s Blog: Fairways, Furniture And Finishing On A High
This weekend will mark a milestone for Ireland lock Paul O’Connell as he wins his 70th cap for his country. Today he brings us up to date on what he has been up to between games and looks forward to Saturday’s clash with Scotland.
I took to the fairways again in the past week, returning to Adare to ascertain whether there had been an improvement in my game. The answer is a bit Irish: yes and no.
I was striking the ball quite nicely but my short game was misbehaving badly. I managed the full 26 points, a total that could have crept over 30 but for my chronic failure on and around the greens.
It’s not as if I can rustle up many excuses. The course was in superb nick and I played with the benefit of a buggy as I would always with a match coming up.
The weather was lovely and the company great, so I’ll put it all down to my short game!
I really enjoyed catching up with the Welsh boys after last weekend’s game and in particular shared a few pints with Stephen Jones, with whom I roomed for the last few weeks on the Lions tour.
He’s a great fella and I also managed a chat with another top man in Martyn Williams. They filled me in on Andy Powell’s buggy exploits!
I was very tired and sore after last Saturday’s match but the following day was almost as tough physically. I got up on the Sunday, had breakfast and a massage and then headed for IKEA with Emily.
We hadn’t even got halfway round by the time I was tired and starving. I now know why it takes three hours to see every nook and cranny – that’s certainly not at a dawdling pace.
It nearly broke me physically but the one consolation was that there was only one thing that we bought that had to be assembled – a stool – and Emily put that together.
It’s been a good campaign for Ireland on and off the pitch. We have enjoyed camps in Cork, Limerick and Carton House and that variety is very important.
Deccie has ensured that the process never became stale. The fact that we can nip down to Dalkey for a coffee or later in the week go for a stroll in town are pleasant distractions.
The priority now is to finish the Championship on a high but to do that we’ll have to play very well because the Scots certainly won’t be coming here to oblige us.
Related Links –
Irish Rugby TV: Paul O’Connell
Paul’s Blog – click here for previous blog