THE UNSEEN WORK.
Donncha O’Callaghan must curse the phrase.
Whenever he has has a bad game, the possibility of another option at second row is put to a talking head.
More often than not the duty falls to Donal Lenihan; or someone else who might only shirk from defending a Munster man if he had waged genocide on everyone north of Rathcormac.
Invisible effort is all they can come up with. As if he is the man who prints the tickets or mops the changing rooms. Someone only to be given a token thanks when the captain is on the plinth, afraid of forgetting anyone in his speech.
This afternoon, O’Callaghan will lead out his beloved Munster in his home town. Musgrave Park will stand and salute a 32-year-old who has given everything for the cause since his first appearance in red, 14 years ago.
O’Callaghan is only the eighth player to reach the double century milestone with the southern province. Mick O’Driscoll, Axel, ROG, Wally, Marcus, the Bull, Quinny, Strings and Donncha – these are the names emblazoned on a legacy.
He’s never been flash, not blessed with pace or style, he’s managed a grand total of eight tries for his province. They are rare events indeed, but when Haley’s Comet crosses the try-line the smiles and backslapping are always that little bit more enthusiastic from his teammates.
O’Callaghan’s greatest skill has always been in the line-out. His demolition of England’s World Cup winning locks – Martin Johnson and Ben Kay – in a win at Welford Road epitomised exactly what he and Munster were capable of when they put their mind to it.
Donner’s other famous role in the squad is as the joker. With this he is as unyielding as he is in tackling. At times you’d wish he would stop, but with the amateur game now a distant memory; a man who refuses to take himself too seriously should be valued most highly of all.
Never did he display this character with as much bravura as he did on a cold, wet December day at the Cardiff Arms Park.
Munster had the shoulder to the wheel on one of their famous away days. Seven points up, typically, they were relishing the fight. So when the sallow skinned second-row found his shorts to be ripped, he stubbornly whipped them off and….. well, see for yourself.
YouTube credit: georgiecasey
The sight of that thunderous backside in improbably small trunks, the referee at the end of his tether – “Go away!” - David Wallace’s disbelieving face as he wondered how the lock could be lifted with bare thighs and John Hayes pushing the flanker aside as if to say ‘just leave it to me’. It’s the stuff of Heineken Cup legend.
Everybody seen that.
The thing about O’Callaghan is: he is Munster. Like Hayes, John Kelly, MIck Galwey and Peter Clohessy before him; O’Callaghan is more than the sum of his parts. Munster is merely the conglomerate of so many over-performing machines, reaping the benefits of a legion of men single-minded in their will to work and endure for the cause.
For the best part of a year, it’s been impossible to mention Donner without mention of his (almost) namesake – Donnacha Ryan. By rights, Ryan should have filled the number four jersey for Ireland this year, as he did for Munster. But O’Callaghan is being given a courtesy, the opportunity to prove himself over the longer distance.
Any extra starts being tagged to his tally at this juncture are no more of a good-will gesture than was granted to Malcolm O’Kelly when a young O’Callaghan was the obvious choice to partner Paul O’Connell in 2004. Swings and roundabouts.
Unshakable
From his first International run on in March 2003, the Cork Con man spent two and a half years waiting in the wings. Allowed just a single start (against the USA) before finally starting his first properly competitive match opposite Ali Williams and the All Blacks. He wore the number four that day beside O’Kelly and he has been unshakable since.
His efforts may pass unnoticed, but take a look through the highlight reel of Irish rugby from the past decade: There’s the buoyant, long-haired, perma-tanned lock.
There is little chance of missing him. He was there for the late win over Wales in 2003 and again in 2009. He was there for the miracle match in Thomond Park, the even more miraculous win in Eden Park and those unignorable statements of intent in Welford Road. No matter how much you try to ignore him, he’s always there.
Unseen? With 200 caps, he must have caught someone’s eye along the way. And he’ll do so again.
Just keep watching.
