Second best is not in his vocabulary. It partially explains why 22-year-old Paul O'Connell will make his debut for Ireland against Wales in the Six Nations Championship game at Lansdowne Road on Sunday in his rookie season as a full-time professional.
A further insight into his fierce determination and commitment can be gleaned from two stories relating to his adolescence. Having played rugby from the time he was seven on the under-eights at Young Munster, O'Connell decided to pursue other sports, notably swimming and golf.
He won national titles at under-13 level in swimming and by the time he was 15 was playing off a four handicap in golf. He explained his sabbatical from rugby. "Whatever I take up I tend to get into it in a big way and practice a lot. I sort of abandoned the rugby for a few years. I won a few Irish championships at under-13 level but swimming at that level is not that competitive.
"I was probably a lot bigger than some of the guys and when they shot up and when they caught up I packed that in and moved on to something else. I suppose I got burned out. I was training from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. three days a week before going to school and then training again in the evenings. It was probably too much too young for me because I was kicking around a few other sports.
"John Gleeson, who owns the Spar shop in Glentworth Street, looked after me as far as the golf was concerned. He was a good influence on me when I was younger. I got my handicap down to four. I hit a wall then and lost interest because I couldn't get any lower," he says.
O'Connell, who plays out of Limerick Golf Club, boasts a six handicap although he claims it should be about 12. "The best thing you can do is to play as many sports as possible. It's easier then to find out what you want to do when you're older."
O'Connell recounts these stories with self-effacing humour, without a trace of arrogance. It does illustrate though that he tolerates no half measures in pursuit of personal goals.
Des Harty, a schoolteacher at Ard Scoil Rís who persuaded him as a 16-year-old to embrace the game once again, facilitated his return to rugby. He probably would have anyway given the family pedigree. His father, Michael, played for Sunday's Well while older brothers, Justin and Marcus, play for UL Bohemian and Randwick (thirds) respectively.
He cites many influences in his career from Mickey Cross, Ollie Delaney and Kieran Kiely at under-age level to former Young Munster player-coach Matt Te Pau and Declan Edwards. The origins of what can only be classed as a meteoric rise to the full national side may be found at schools level.
O'Connell played for an Ireland schools team that lost narrowly to England before beating Scotland and Wales and also for the Ireland under-21 team where he came under the influence of another strong character, former Ireland captain and coach Ciarán Fitzgerald.
"Fitzie was excellent. He would let you off and do your own thing and would only interrupt if something needed to be said. His speeches before games were amazing. He would be the type of guy I would look up to."
O'Connell briefly considered joining Connacht to get some game time at provincial level but last season, following injury, started to make the Munster squad.
He was offered a full-time contract for this season and by sheer hard work and ability made the starting line-up: a fair achievement when one considers the competition offered by Mick O'Driscoll, Donncha O'Callaghan and John Langford.
A modest, articulate young man he has been fast-tracked to the national side but would be far from over-awed. He enjoyed an immense game in the loose against Stade Francais last weekend but when on learning of his man-of-the-match award remarked: "Sure I hardly caught a ball in the lineout."
On Sunday the bar will be raised once again but O'Connell is unlikely to be fazed, possessing a steel and hardness, on the pitch, that belie his tender years. Fellow Young Munster man Peter Clohessy wins his 50th cap, O'Connell the first of many.
