In pics: O’Connell completes 40 minutes in Munster return

Paul O’Connell’s return to action ensured a larger crowd than normal witnessed Munster A’s victory over Leinster at UL today.

By Declan Whooley

Munster, Ireland and Lions fans will be delighted to see the lock make his long-awaited return to action after injury trouble, and seemed to relish his 40 minutes of action at The Bowl in UL.

Andrew Conway put the visitors ahead with an early try, but three penalties from JJ Hanrahan saw Muster lead 9-7 at the interval, at which point O’Connell departed from the game.

He made a number of carries and was busy throughout, but after such a long time out, a full 80 minutes was never on the cards.

Plenty of onlookers for first game back

Tries from Ronan O’Mahony and Danny Barnes in the second half and a last-minute drop goal from Scott Deasy saw the home side overcome their Leinster counterparts on a scoreline of 24 points to 17.

The main story of the day however was Paulie’s return in what could be a massive few months ahead for the former Lions captain.

Taking on Quinn Roux at UL today