Latest news with #PaulO'Connell
Irish Daily Mirror
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ireland's summer tour leaves fans wondering 'what was the point?'
Ireland ended their Summer tour with a comprehensive hammering of Portugal, beating the European side on a scoreline of 106 to 7. With the win, a number of records were set by Ireland including the most points they have ever scored in a test match (106), the highest margin of victory (99), the most tries in a match (16) and the most conversion landed (12). But despite these numbers, many fans were left disappointed by the tour as a whole and questioned the reasoning behind it. While Ireland's first game with Georgia was more competitive (34-5), they're drubbing of Portugal was seen by many as a pointless exercise. Speaking to Virgin Sports, interim manager Paul O'Connell summed up the situation by saying: "I feel sorry for Portugal, but we were very clinical and took our chances. 'It is a unique summer tour given the Lions tour is on at the same time, but I am very happy with how our squad applied themselves. 'It is great to get some guys capped and scoring tries and training in an international environment.' When have you ever heard an Irish coach apologising to the opposition for beating them so badly? Never, and that's because things like this shouldn't really happen. Ireland will have gained no benefit from that Portugal game at all. The performance makes no difference to Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley's duel for the number 10 shirt, and while Craig Casey was Tour captain, he hardly needed to exhibit too many leadership qualities across the 80 minutes on Saturday. Yes, some players made their debuts, but can anyone really say they impressed in a fixture like that? Making matters worse, Ireland cruised past two teams who are miles behind them and they did it with what amounts to a 'C' team as so many of the top Irish stars are on Lions duty. They even did it without head coach Andy Farrell and number two Simon Easterby. I'm sure some readers will be wondering why people are wondering why this article is being so negative. Well, just take a quick look on social media and you will see that most fans believe this two tour test series - particularly the Portugal game - was a pointless endeavour. Here's a selection of the comments under an Irish Rugby post that boasted about setting these records against Portugal: "Can somebody explain the logic behind this kind of fixture?" "Not sure anyone learnt anything from that…" "Absolutely joke. @IrishRugby should be ashamed of themselves for arranging this fixture. How the hell can Portugal come back from this? Pathetic." "What's the point in this game?" "Waste of a game." "What's the point of that?" "Pointless game though" "What a load of pointless rubbish. And Portugal is the 21st Nation that Ireland has awarded caps for playing against! Think about that. More teams play hockey." 14-uncapped players were named by O'Connell in the squad this Summer. How many of them or any of the squad in for that matter will in Ireland camp in November or next Spring for the Six Nations? Another Emerging Ireland tour with uncapped youngsters playing players of similar or better quality would have been far more beneficial. Maybe players could have been given time to sharpen up on their skills. Sam Prendergast for example is often criticised for his tackling technique. Would he not have been better served using these Summer months to hone his craft and put on some size away from the spotlight? Or better yet, maybe players could have been given a much needed summer off after a long season. Next up for Ireland is a test match in November with the New Zealand All Blacks, a match that promises to be far more competitive and indeed beneficial to the team.
Irish Daily Mirror
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Paul O'Connell hails Irish mentality after Portugal drubbing
Ireland's interim head coach, Paul O'Connell, confessed he felt sympathy for Portugal following his team's record-shattering 106-7 victory in Lisbon. Despite missing 17 players due to British and Irish Lions tour commitments, O'Connell's squad scored 16 tries in a lopsided thrashing, surpassing their previous largest win when they netted 13 tries in an 83-3 defeat of the United States in 2000. Speaking to Virgin Sports, O'Connell said: "I feel sorry for Portugal, but we were very clinical and took our chances. 'It is a unique summer tour given the Lions tour is on at the same time, but I am very happy with how our squad applied themselves. 'It is great to get some guys capped and scoring tries and training in an international environment.' Connacht pair Hugh Gavin and Shayne Bolton went over twice apiece on their debuts and there was also a brace each for club team-mate and flanker Cian Prendergast and Leinster wing Tommy O'Brien. With fly-half Jack Crowley landing 12 of his 15 conversion attempts – Ireland were also awarded a penalty try – the tourists also racked up 100 points for the first time. Captain Craig Casey, who went over for Ireland's ninth try early in the second half, told Virgin Sports: 'Our major takeaway from today is our mentality. We were very professional and played our game to get the result. 'It's a shame the stadium wasn't full, but seeing the amount of Irish fans here was special to get the result for them.' Ireland had 11 different try-scorers in addition to the penalty try, with centre Stuart McCloskey, forwards Thomas Clarkson and Alex Kendellen and replacements Calvin Nash, Ciaran Frawley and Ben Murphy also touching down. Ireland next face New Zealand in Chicago in a one-off Test on November 1.
Irish Examiner
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Paul O'Connell on Portugal pasting: "We can only beat what is put in front of us"
A record win for Ireland and a biggest ever defeat for Portugal, but Paul O'Connell was more interested in effort and attitude than any line his team added to the history books in Lisbon on Saturday evening. The 106-7 defeat of the Portuguese by his second-string side made for the biggest ever victory and the most points scored in the history of the men's senior Test team. For the hosts it was a black day in the history less than two years since a breakthrough World Cup. Ireland claimed 16 tries and conceded just the one against a Tier 2 team that was blown away from minute one, and the interim head coach put it that all his side could do was tend to their own garden on the night at the Estadio Nacional. 'Listen, we can only beat what is put in front of us and they have performed quite well against Scotland and South Africa in the last few years so we were ready for a big challenge. And it wasn't about them really, it was more about us. 'It wasn't even about the rugby we were going to play. It was more about our mentality and that was a big part for us in terms of how they prepared and how they played. I was hoping it would be sticky and we would see what we were like. 'Then when we were pulling away I was kind of excited to see what our mentality would be like and how we were going to set our own standards. I was really pleased in that. They didn't care about the scoreline, they just kept playing as hard as they could. 'I love seeing some of the kick-chase stuff late in the game. It really shows the mentality of the players so I was really pleased from that point of view. The scoreline isn't ideal and it's not good for them but I was happy with the mentality.' Captain Craig Casey echoed that. The Munsterman said there was no talk of hitting triple digits at half-time when they led 52-0. And Casey had no idea that Ireland's standing record win at that point was an 83-3 defeat of the USA in New Hampshire in 2003. 'God no, no.' For O'Connell, who also guided the side to a comfortable win against Georgia last weekend, the tour has been proof that there are enough players down the depth chart in Ireland to blossom when offered the opportunity. 'We've seen it on the Emerging Ireland tour, just guys dying for the chance. They will do everything and anything once they get their chance. They are great tourists to coach, guys with an incredible attitude and it's your job as coaches not to 'f' that up.' For Portugal, this shows up just how far behind they are. A side that defeated Fiji in France in the global tournament in 2023 was no match for an Irish side flooded with players looking to make their mark and head coach Simon Mannix made the claim that this was a clear reflection of the road they need to travel. 'Explain it? I'm not sure that I can explain it. If it was a boxing fight it would have been called off at half-time,' said the man who once coached at Munster. 'We have bluffed ourselves in the last 12 months believing that we could perform. 'We're not in a performance space at all, we are in a total reset. We are in a development phase, Portuguese rugby, because of the hole that was left after the World Cup in 2023. We need to do a whole rest on what we are doing as a union, what we are doing with our players. 'We are starting to do that, those processes are in place. It is very difficult to play a Tier 1 nation when 1: you don't have access to your players, 2: the players have had no preparation to come and play this game with no warm-up game. 'And 3: we have had players coming off of ten weeks playing in a local championship that just cannot prepare them for this type of opposition, which is an outstandingly organised rugby team. 'Rather than throwing out excuses, we knew where we were at. Did we think we would be a hundred points worse than Ireland? No we didn't. Are we disappointed? We are absolutely devastated but we will work. Good things will come through if we work hard.'
RTÉ News
12-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
'I feel sorry for Portugal' - Paul O'Connell
Ireland interim head coach Paul O'Connell admitted he felt sorry for Portugal after his side's record-breaking 106-7 win in Lisbon. O'Connell's side, without 17 players currently on British and Irish Lions tour duty, ran in 16 tries in a one-sided rout to eclipse their previous biggest win when they scored 13 tries in an 83-3 defeat of the United States in 2000. O'Connell said: "I feel sorry for Portugal, but we were very clinical and took our chances. "It is a unique summer tour, given the Lions tour is on at the same time, but I am very happy with how our squad applied themselves. "It is great to get some guys capped and scoring tries and training in an international environment." Connacht pair Hugh Gavin and Shayne Bolton went over twice apiece on their debuts and there was also a brace each for club team-mate and flanker Cian Prendergast and Leinster wing Tommy O'Brien. With fly-half Jack Crowley landing 12 of his 15 conversion attempts – Ireland were also awarded a penalty try – the tourists also racked up 100 points for the first time. Captain Craig Casey, who went over for Ireland's ninth try early in the second half, said: "Our major takeaway from today is our mentality. We were very professional and played our game to get the result. "It's a shame the stadium wasn't full, but seeing the amount of Irish fans here was special to get the result for them." Ireland had 11 different tryscorers in addition to the penalty try, with centre Stuart McCloskey, forwards Thomas Clarkson and Alex Kendellen and replacements Calvin Nash, Ciaran Frawley and Ben Murphy also touching down.
Hindustan Times
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Rugby-Ireland thrash Portugal 106-7 to break records
July 12 (Reuters) - Rampant Ireland ran in 16 tries as they crushed tier-2 Portugal 106-7 in Lisbon on Saturday, the biggest victory in their 150-year history and also their first time beyond 100 points. HT Image The 99-point winning margin tops their previous best when they thumped the United States 83-3 in 2000, while they had never previously managed 16 tries in a game either. Ireland were missing 16 of their regular players who are on tour in Australia with the British & Irish Lions, and have stand-in coach Paul O'Connell leading the team, but were far too quick and powerful for the Portuguese. "I feel sorry for Portugal but we were very clinical and took our chances," O'Connell told Virgin Sports. "It is a unique summer tour given the Lions tour is on at the same time but I am very happy with how our squad applied themselves. "It is great to get some guys capped and scoring tries and training in an international environment." The visitors fielded three debutants and all crossed for tries – winger Shayne Bolton and centre Hugh Gavin both scored twice, while flanker Alex Kendellen also got on the scoresheet. Ireland had 11 different try-scorers, not including a penalty try, with wing Tommy O'Brien and number eight Cian Prendergast both scoring twice, while backs Stuart McCloskey, Craig Casey, Calvin Nash, Ciaran Frawley and Ben Murphy also scored. Prop Thomas Clarkson was the only other forward to get a try as Ireland kept the ball in hand and bamboozled their hosts with some scintillating running rugby. Flyhalf Jack Crowley kicked 11 conversions to cap an excellent personal performance, though it is hard to know exactly how much they will take out of a game where they were never unduly tested by their hosts. The friendly was the final fixture of the season for Ireland, who defeated Georgia 34-5 last weekend. (Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
