129 Not Out

So Brian O Driscoll’s final season has begun in Test rugby with a win over Scotland. But I suppose we must start at the beginning for this incredible sportsman. He made his Test debut against Australia in 1999 before even making a senior appearance for Leinster , which I think is incredible because it would not happen now in most sports that a player would play for his or her country before playing for his or her club.

He announced his arrival on the world stage in 2000 against France in the 6 nations with a hat trick and he was part of the first Irish team to beat France in Paris since 1972.Since that day in Paris “BOD” has become a global superstar of Rugby Union on a par with the likes of Lomu , Cullen and Wilkinson. He has made his mark very quickly and was made Irish captain in 2002 becoming full time captain in 2003.

The one thing that will come as a surprise to many people is that Brian has never won the IRB World Player of the Year, despite winning numerous league and cup titles including a Celtic League and 4 European trophies along with a Grand Slam in 2009. So at least he has some silverware to look back on when his career comes to a close at the end of this season. New Zealand’s Richie Mc Caw has won 3 World Player of the Year awards so from a European perspective one wonders why “BOD” has not won this particular accolade.

He has led Leinster and Ireland from the front for the past 14 years and in that time has scored 46 tries for Ireland to date and also played on a record 4 Lions tours which will not be matched in the modern era. He has also captained The Lions on that unsuccessful tour of New Zealand in 2005.

In the 6 nations he has broken Ian Smith’s record of 25 tries by scoring 26 tries so far in the Championship. He has been a mainstay of the Irish side in all 14 6 nations campaigns. So as his last season begins its final few months I encourage anyone that can to come out and support this genius and admire his class while we still can. Because as is always said you only really miss something when it is gone for good. To Brian I sincerely  thank him for all the memorable moments he given the fans over the last 14 years. So it is 129 not out.

By Cian Mc Gibney. 04-02-2014.