Homeschooling was a pitch battle for Paul

HE’S been in epic battles on the pitch but Irish rugby legend Paul O’Connell found homeschooling his children his hardest match up yet.

The former Ireland lock, who has three children with wife Emily O’Leary – Paddy, ten, Lola, five, and Felix, two – has admitted he can’t wait for the schools to reopen in September.

‘It wasn’t easy. No parent should ever have to teach their kids schoolwork,’ he said.

O’Connell said his family’s initial enthusiasm for the idea faded badly, remarking: ‘The school my kids went to were great. They kind of sensed that we were waning and took up the baton themselves and started doing Zoom classes and things like that.’

The Munster legend, pictured, said he was ‘really hoping’ the children go back to school in September adding that they need that ‘buzz’ of being around their friends. He said: ‘They need to be learning, they need to be challenged. My kids are happy. They are playing and having fun, but I’m not sure how much they are learning. But they looked after each other very well. They were great.’

The 40-year-old was speaking to Virgin Media’s Alan Hughes as Ireland AM visited Limerick as part of their #BackingBusiness campaign. O’Connell said that lockdown had been the longest he himself had been at home in many years due to his hectic lifestyle. He remarked: ‘I would have been travelling a lot during my rugby career, we would have been away every weekend, certainly every other weekend, and then into camp. ‘I’ve probably done the same since I retired, because I’ve been involved in commentating and coaching. So it’s the first time I’ve been home for this long.’