Following similar stars of the sport, O’Connell has rejected offers to join the French Top 14 and remain with his home team, Munster, until 2016. The 34-year-old is hopeful to captain his country’s squad in the fast approaching 2015 World Cup.

O’Connell had this to say at the prospect of two more years with Munster, “Over the years I have been privileged to play in many fantastic Munster sides and as we build for the future I am excited by the prospect of playing my part in achieving success with Munster and Ireland in the coming seasons.”

Since his start playing with the South Irish squad, O’Connell has had a respectable 154 showings and earned 88 caps. The three-time British and Irish Lion has led his teammates to one Heineken Cup title in ’08 and the RaboDirect Pro12 in ’09 and ’11.

Philip Browne, the IRFU chief executive, offered his own praise for O’Connell, testifying, “Paul is one of Ireland’s greatest ever rugby players and his contribution to the success of Irish rugby over the past decade has been immense.”

Munster head coach Rob Penney touted O’Connell is “one of the best second rows in world rugby”, and that it will be a pleasure to have him with the team for another two years.