O'Kelly salutes the Leinster faithful following their 2009 Heineken Cup Final victory over Leicester
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The Irish Times' Gerry Thornley talks to Lions, Ireland, Leinster and St Mary's College secondrow Malcolm O'Kelly who has finally decided to call time on his golden career.
"First Girvan and now Mal. A golden generation is coming to an end alright. And Malcolm O’Kelly was very much a key figure in that era. In terms of pure natural talent there has no more gifted lock than O’Kelly, with all due respect to Willie John McBride, Paul O’Connell, Donal Lenihan, Neil Francis and the rest. Big Mal was a total one-off.
"Eric Elwood once told the story of the Irish squad arriving in South Africa in 1998 and, as way of overcoming jetlag, all of them were immediately sent off on a run. O’Kelly returned to the hotel about third or fourth, quicker than all the other forwards and most of the backs, went straight to the team room and declared: “Is there any food, I’m starving.”
"...That heart, that stamina, that work-rate. The bigger the game, the more he busted a gut. Lifting or no lifting, he’d have ruled the skies. Memories will always remain of him dominating the England lineout at Twickenham in 2004, and his try-saving covering tackle by the corner flag on Mark Regan, along with many other virtuoso performances."
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