Paul O'Connell linked with a move to Bernard Jackman's Grenoble side
Paul O'Connell (above) could be on his way to Grenoble after the World Cup, according to French Newspaper Midi Olympique.
Former Leinster and Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman is the head coach at the Top-14 club and, more importantly, his former Young Munster and provincial team-mate Mike Prendergast is the skills coach.
There is a contractual impediment rooted in the fact O'Connell has a centralised IRFU deal to the summer of 2016, although this could be short-circuited on the grounds of service rendered.
Leo Cullen, meanwhile, believes Ireland have found the perfect blend between the detail of Joe Schmidt and the passion of O'Connell.
"Paulie is the spiritual leader, that's what it looks like, of the team. He drives them," said the Leinster forwards coach.
"Joe will bring all the detail but, for the emotion, a lot of the players would see Paul as the figurehead for that, something that he has done time and time again with Munster and Ireland.
"He's going to be a big loss whenever he goes. It seems that it will be his last Ireland-England game at home in Dublin.
"He's such a big character for the 15 years he's been doing it with Ireland. He's been a phenomenon for them."
