Amid these trying times, a Munster good-news story. Within six minutes of Evan O’Connell’s overdue return against the Lions last Saturday week, he scored a try. He also assumed lineout-calling duties in an impressive 80-minute outing following a five-month injury layoff.It’s an ill wind and all that, for O’Connell was a late call-up after the withdrawal of Fineen Wycherley. The well-bred 22-year-old lock, of whom there are such high hopes, was then part of the Munster travelling squad which flew to Pretoria on Tuesday ahead of their URC quarter-final against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.Head coach Clayton McMillan has confirmed that O’Connell will be in the matchday 23 for his first knock-out match in a Munster jersey. “I think he’s got a big feeling for the game. He’s somebody who’s really only scratching the surface in terms of his potential,” said McMillan.“He’s in a position which is attritional and he’s coming along really nicely in building his body to be able to deal with the weekly pressures of playing at this level of the game.“He’s a real student of the game, so he understands it and he shows a hell of a lot of leadership in that regard. Like most other guys, he’s just learning his craft around being a pro and what it takes to compete against not only the opposition, but against his own teammates in order to get across the line.”The province have been crying out for an injection of Limerick forwards and, of course, as a nephew of former Irish and Lions captain Paul, his bloodline is Munster royalty.He does not regard the legacy as a burden.Evan O’Connell during squad preparation for Munster's URC quarter-final against Bulls in Pretoria, South Africa. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho “No, I don’t care. If people are going to do it, I’d expect that but I’m my own player, my own person and I have to be that way. Obviously, Paul is an unbelievable help to me as well in my career. But I have to be my own player, my own person as well.”His father, Justin, who was also a lock of some repute in his playing days with UL Bohemians, has been Evan O’Connell’s biggest influence.“My dad coached me in UL Bohs since I was about four. He coached me all the way up until under-18s and I just loved it. I played a lot of sports growing up. I played some soccer. I played some hurling, some Gaelic football. I played a bit of everything. I actually loved the hurling as well.“But ultimately, it was just rugby. Once I got into school in Castletroy and started playing Junior Cup and progressing into Senior Cup, I just fell in love with it and stuck at it from there.”All the while, of course, he’s been a Munster fan . . . since as long ago as, well, he’s not exactly sure.“My memory is terrible, but I used to go to Thomond Park every weekend with my dad or my grandad and I’ve always been a supporter, always been a big massive Munster man. So, to get to play in Munster and put on the jersey, it’s just unreal.”Before his return, O’Connell’s most recent outing for the province had been away to Glasgow last December.“I was just very happy to be out on the pitch,” he says. “I had an injury there for the last while and then to get a chance to start was huge for me after the changes during the week. Any chance you get to pull on that red jersey in Thomond Park is just an honour.”Evan O'Connell representing Emerging Ireland against Western Force in Bloemfontein in 2024. Photograph: Inpho/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart He has been gaining attention since progressing from the Ireland Under-18s to Under-19s and Under-20s, with whom he won a Grand Slam in 2023 before captaining the side in the 2024 Six Nations and Junior World Cup.He also played for Emerging Ireland in South Africa last season, as well as the Ireland A side against their England counterparts, and also for the Ireland Wolfhounds against Spain last November.“I think it’s unfair to compare what we currently have to what the team has probably had in the past,” McMillan also said this week. “Right now, we don’t necessarily have a Peter O’Mahony or a Paul O’Connell.“We’re talking about generational, iconic Munster players who were probably born with natural leadership ability and even they would probably say that they learnt from some legends themselves. And this is a team who last year lost nearly 1,000 rugby caps when you lost Peter, Conor Murray, the others.”He does, however, believe Evan O’Connell can be one of the younger players to help fill those enormous voids.“He’ll no doubt continue to emerge as one of those leaders moving forward but at his age and stage, I would just get him to focus purely on being the best rugby player that he can be,” said McMillan.In the short-term, as O’Connell’s underage body of work demonstrates and as was evident in his display last Saturday in such a high-stakes game, it certainly doesn’t seem like this Saturday’s game will faze him.While he agreed this is probably the biggest professional game of his career to date, O’Connell said: “But at the same time, it’s just another game. I know there’s weight on the game, and it’s a knock-out game. But for us, all we’re thinking is it’s another game. Nothing changes. We still stick to our process, stick to our plan.”