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Paul’s Diary: Interviews, Golf And Wales

In his first diary entry of 2012, Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations skipper Paul O’Connell fills us in on taking over the captain’s armband from the injured Brian O’Driscoll.

It’s been a hectic start to the week in my new role as captain and I have new found respect for the role that Brian (O’Driscoll) fulfilled in terms of media duties.

The RBS 6 Nations launch in London was an endless loop of the same questions over and over again. I normally quite like doing interviews but the sheer volume and repetition made it a little bit of a chore. There was very little craic to be had on the day.

It was also pretty busy at the Ireland team announcement as those duties took about an hour and three quarters on Wednesday but it’s great to be back in camp, meeting up with the lads.

We don’t have the luxury of easing into it and enjoying some of the bonding activities that we managed in New Zealand. Those set an excellent foundation and spirit for a good World Cup, albeit with a disappointing end to it.

There’s been no golf played down in Carton House unlike when we were here preparing to go to New Zealand. Some of the lads did manage to get a lesson from the GUI national coach Neil Manchip. I missed out in August but I won’t next week because I definitely need one.

We know the importance of Sunday’s match but it’s in looking forward rather than back. We can’t change what happened (in New Zealand) but we can try and control what we want to achieve in the RBS 6 Nations.

The great thing is the time for talking is almost done.

PS. Great win for Everton over Manchester City. Money isn’t everything obviously!