Going in the opposite direction is fellow bolier-room brawler O'Connell, who brought his 14-year association with Munster to an end this summer with three league winners' medals in his back pocket.
But Chisholm knows he has plenty to prove before he can be thought of in the same bracket as the veteran Ireland star.
"I don't think anybody could fill his shoes," Chisholm told the Irish Examiner.
"He's a legend of Irish rugby and of Munster rugby. What I am looking to do is to add my style of game to help the team either in an experience sort of way or my sort of way.
"It's different [rugby in France compared with Ireland]. The learning curve is certainly very sharp, especially with the timeline I've had to do it in. In saying that, I'm still learning.
"It's not perfect, but I'm leaps and bounds ahead of where I was four or five weeks ago."
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