Rubuta ci gaba ga wannan sakin layi - A wasan farko na Ireland na gasar zakarun kasashe shida na 2004, O'Connell ya jagoranci kungiyar a lokacin da Brian O'Driscoll bai halarci ba. Ya kuma taka leda a wasan da suka yi da Scotland a ranar 27 ga Maris, 2004, wanda Ireland ta lashe Triple Crown na farko a cikin shekaru 19. O'Connell kuma ya sami kayan azurfa a gaban kulob din lokacin da Munster ya lashe wasan karshe na Celtic Cup, inda ya doke Llanelli Scarlets 27<unk>16 a Lansdowne Road a ranar 14 ga Mayu, 2005. Ya kuma kasance wani ɓangare na tawagar 'yan wasan Ireland da suka lashe Triple Crown a gasar zakarun kasashe shida ta 2006
, wasa a wasan kwaikwayo 24-28 nasara a kan Ingila don tabbatar da Crown. Ya zira kwallaye na karshe na kasa da kasa a Old Lansdowne Road kafin a rushe shi kuma a sake gina shi a matsayin Aviva Stadium, a cikin nasarar 61-17 a kan Pacific Islanders.