Preview: Ireland v Wales
The Munster and British and Irish Lions captain is already secured of a place alongside the likes of Brian O’Driscoll as a modern-day icon of Irish rugby after 102 Test appearances in the emerald green jersey.
Yet the 35-year-old colossus from Limerick will finally succumb to the inevitable and call-time on his international career following the World Cup, before joining European champions Toulon.
So while there is importance enough upon this latest World Cup warm-up game, the last for both countries before final squads are named next week, there is a flood of sentiment as well.
By a twist of fate, Wales are once again the opposition, just as they were for lock O'Connell's international debut 13 years ago and for his century of caps in March.
"Paul is pretty handy in terms of keeping his emotions in check, he knows what works for him," said Ireland defence coach Les Kiss.
"I've coached him for seven years now and I speak on behalf of the other coaches when I say that he’s an inspiration.
"He deserves a good send-off and hopefully we can deliver that. He’s special person in terms of his leadership and what he does on the rugby pitch.
"But the type of person he is around the environment with all the stakeholders in the game and the fans is brilliant," Kiss added.
O’Connell scored on his debut against Wales, at Lansdowne Road, though famously admitted he had no recollection of the moment having played for 25 minutes suffering concussion after tackling Craig Quinnell.
Concussion has once again become a hot topic in the build up to this game, with George North set to return after an enforced five-month lay-off.
The Wales wing has not played since he suffered his third concussion in the space of four months during an English Premiership game for Northampton.
North had previously suffered similar injuries after clashing heads in games against both Australia and England.
"George has had a few issues with knocks to the head but hopefully he has put that behind him," said Wales coach Warren Gatland.
"We've been very conservative with his recovery because his welfare has been paramount. We have had to make sure George is right because we know that his career could be at risk if he suffers one or two more serious knocks," the New Zealander added.
"But we’ve had two pretty full-on training sessions and I have no doubt he will be up to speed."
Both countries field far stronger teams than met in Cardiff three weeks ago, when Six Nations champions Ireland won 35-21.
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has made nine changes, including the recall of halfbacks Jonathan Sexton and Conor Murray, as well as selecting Luke Fitzgerald in a new-look midfield.
The last time Fitzgerald played centre for his country was against world champions New Zealand in 2013 – the last time Ireland were defeated at home. That run now stretches to nine games.
Wales have re-called Leigh Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts and Alun Wyn Jones, who captains the team in place of Sam Warburton, rested with a shoulder injury.
"I’m expecting us to be pretty rusty but it’s an experienced group and hopefully that familiarity will bring us through," said Gatland.
Players to watch:
For Ireland: Rob Kearney should provide a spark from the back alongside Keith Earls. Jonny Sexton and Conor Murray will look to run the show and up front look for Jamie Healip and Peter O'Mahoney to make life very difficult for the Welsh. Captain Paul O'Connell will be key at line-out time and South African-born hooker Richardt Strauss will take the game to the oppposition.
For Wales: Leigh Halfpenny will be solid at the back and his goal-kicking will be vital. George North and Jamie Roberts will get their big frames over the advantage line while Rhys Webb is always a threat around the fringes. Taulupe Faletau always puts in a big shift and Justin Tipuric will cause issues at the breakdown. Captain Alun Wyn Jones will lead by example and the experienced Gethin Jenkins will be the key man at scrum-time.
Head to head: Rob Kearney and Leigh Halfpenny are two of the best fullbacks around at the moment, so their tussle will be intriguing. Keith Earls and Alex Cuthbert will be an interesting match-up out wide but the key clash will be between flyhalves Jonny Sexton and Dan Biggar. In the forwards both Jamie Healip and Taulupe Faletau have the ability to change a game, while up front the battle between the captains Paul O'Connell and Alun Wyn Jones will be crucial.
Recent results:
2015: Ireland won 35-21, Cardiff
2015: Wales won 23-16, Cardiff
2014: Ireland won 26-3, Dublin
2013: Ireland won 30-22, Cardiff
2012: Wales won 23-21, Dublin
2011: Wales won 22-10, Wellington (World Cup quarterfinal)
2011: Wales won 19-13, Cardiff
2010: Ireland won 27-12, Dublin
2009: Ireland won 17-15, Cardiff
2008: Wales won 16-12, Dublin
2007: Ireland won 19-9, Cardiff
Prediction: Wales will come out hard to try and prove a point, but Ireland are looking good at the moment and should be able to win at home by about 10 points.
Teams:
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Luke Fitzgerald, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (captain), 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Nathan White, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Paddy Jackson 23 Felix Jones.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Paul James, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 James King, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Hallam Amos.
Date: Saturday, August 29
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 14.30 (13.30 GMT)
Predicted weather: Scattered thundershowers, 80% chance of rain. High of 20 with a 20kph wind
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Luke Pearce (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
