Paul O'Connell

South Africa coach Peter de Villiers said he was "surprised" by the choice of Ireland's Paul O'Connell as captain of the British and Irish Lions squad that will face the world champion Springboks. O'Connell may be the captain of European champions Munster but for Ireland he plays under Brian O'Driscoll, also included in the 37-man squad announced by coach Ian McGeechan on Tuesday for the 10-match, three-Test tour of South Africa, which starts on May 30. Earlier this season O'Driscoll led Ireland to their first Grand Slam since 1948 and de Villiers said he was taken aback after McGeechan didn't appoint the midfielder, the ... Read Full Story

Paul O'Connell, captain of the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour All the discussion and speculation on the squad for the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour will be over tomorrow. At lunch on Tuesday 21st April the squad to tour South Africa with the 2009 British & Irish Lions will be announced. The two front runners for the captaincy are the Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll and Munster captain Paul O’Connell. The latest news is that Paul has been given the nod and will named as the captain. Yesterday the Sunday Times names Paul O’Connell as the captain, read here . Today on the ... Read Full Story

08 June, 2009 01:43:00 Times Online Font size: Paul O'Connell will lead a strong British & Irish Lions against the Sharks on Wednesday as they look to maintain their unbeaten start to the tour of South Africa. Ian McGeechan, the Lions head coach, has tinkered with his side again as the Lions look to bounce back from a disappointing performance in their 26-24 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. He has returned to proven combinations in the form of Brian O'Driscoll and Jamie Roberts, who proved almost unstoppable in the Lions' record 74-10 victory over the Golden Lions, and in the back row. The ... Read Full Story

The British and Irish Lions starting XV showed five changes for the second, make-or-break Test against South Africa at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria on Saturday. "The players know they came desperately close to winning the first Test in Durban," tour manager Gerald Davies said of last weekend's 26-21 loss during which the Lions rallied strongly in the final 20 minutes. "They have put that disappointment behind them as we head to Pretoria for one of the toughest challenges a team can face - playing South Africa at home at Loftus Versfeld." There were three personnel changes in the scrum, Welsh duo Adam Jones and Matthew ... Read Full Story

India news ThalaPolaVaruma 4 minutes ago ( http://us.rd.yahoo.com ) View profile Category : Science/Tech British and Irish Lions skipper Paul O'Connell will have his third second-row partner in four games when they meet kwaZulu-Natal Sharks here Wednesday. Tell a friend   Bury Read Full Story