Paul O'Connell has played his last game for Ireland. The injury news that we all knew yesterday has been confirmed and the Irish career of a true great has come to and end.
A leader, a warrior, a gentleman - @Paul_OConnell has played his last for Ireland. #ShoulderToShoulder #RWC2015 pic.twitter.com/xNmt6YqIpX
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) October 13, 2015
As had been speculated, Mike McCarthy has been called in to the squad to replace the great man.
Squad Update: @mikemccarthy6 called up to #RWC2015 squad in place of @Paul_OConnell #ShoulderToShoulder pic.twitter.com/QI46KrJ9yl
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) October 13, 2015
The statement from Irish Rugby reads as follows:
Paul O'Connell suffered a significant hamstring injury and will undergo surgery this week.
Paul will not play again at Rugby World Cup 2015 and his time out of the game will depend on the outcome of the surgery.
Mike McCarthy has been called up to the Ireland squad in place of Paul O'Connell. Mike will arrive in Cardiff today.
The significant hamstring injury is widely thought to have been an avulsion which in layman's terms is a hamstring tear away from the bone. Given just how much he deserves his stint in Toulon, we're all hoping the surgery goes as well as could possibly be expected.
